by Mark Silva
Timothy Geithner once had a date with the tax man.
Now Geithner is the tax man - secretary of the Treasury Department after his swearing-in tonight, following a 60-34 vote of confirmation by the Senate.
The 75th treasury secretary will be one of the men in President Barack Obama's drive to revive the economy - Obama attended the swearing-in at the Treasury Department, next door to the White House.
As president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Geithner has been instrumental in the government's response to collapsing financial institutions and the troubled housing and credit markets. Yet his nomination was delayed after it was revealed that he had failed to pay more than $34,000 in taxes - partly paid a while back at the insistence of the agency, the IRS, which he will now oversee, and partly paid when Obama's transition vettors came across the tax problem.
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, said: "I voted to confirm Tim Geithner because I believe he is the best man to help turn our economy around. Today's announcements of further job losses are evidence that the economic crisis is getting worse and we need a treasury secretary who is ready to tackle the challenges we face in the months to come. ''
Rockefeller's counterpart, Sen. Robert Byrd, (D-WVa.) was among three Democrats who voted against the confirmation of Obama's secretary.
"Had he not been nominated for treasury secretary, it's doubtful that he would have ever paid these taxes," Byrd said in a statement.
Photo of Timothy Geithner by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images Wire services contributed to this report.
Comments
It's a win for Obama, but the vote itself is hardly something for the administration to cheer about. They need to be just happy that he's finally at Treasury and can put the tax trouble behind him. That'll be for the conservative media types to keep going...
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | January 26, 2009 8:05 PM
Admitted tax cheat-
Wonder what he will cheat on next,
What has our Congress come to?
Posted by: Inky | January 26, 2009 8:16 PM
Geithner didn't pay a small amount of back taxes?
That should make him a hero among deadender Repugs like Joe the fake Plumber.
Posted by: ralph | January 26, 2009 9:31 PM
Geithner is obviously a smart guy, and I hope he can help us through this. The tax issue was boneheaded, but I'll take him at his word that it was not intentional and hope he does well. We all should.
Posted by: Herbie H. | January 26, 2009 9:33 PM
It seems reasonable. The new tax man is a recent tax dodger. Part of the commitment to openness, transparency, and integrity which will be prevalent in the HopeBama Administration.
Change you can believe in.
Posted by: ObamabotsACTIVATE | January 26, 2009 10:31 PM
His secret weapon, as against Paulson and Kash & Kari??
Hair.
Posted by: ornery | January 27, 2009 12:29 AM
You know that all the congresspeople who voted against him don't take advantage of tax loopholes when they file. They in fact pay extra to make up for their pals who feel they need to cheat the system.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | January 27, 2009 7:16 AM
A Obama plan to balance the budget: appoint all Democrats to his cabinet.
That way they'll have to finally pay the taxes they owe.
Posted by: "Dissent is Patriotic" | January 27, 2009 8:44 AM
ralph, for starters, Joe the Plumber isn't in charge of the US Treasury.
Geithner was also reimbursed for taxes he never paid.
Posted by: SondraK | January 27, 2009 10:08 AM