No Hearing Planned For Bailout Czar

Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has no plans to subject Neel Kashkari -- the man tapped by Hank Paulson to set up the $700 billion TARP bailout plan -- to a confirmation hearing, a Dodd source says.

Kashkari, 35, is officially an interim appointment and doesn't need to be confirmed. Presumably, he won't be around because he'll do his job and leave by the end of December when the new president takes over.

One Democratic aide, whose boss serves on banking, said he wasn't holding it against Dodd. But the person raised an interesting point: Isn't it a "good idea" to have "the George Washington of TARP" explain his philosophy on a committee that billed itself as a bastion of oversight?

A Dodd staffer, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Connecticut Democrat was "keeping in touch" with Paulson and Kaskari and would decide if some kind of hearing would be appropriate in the future.