US president-elect Barack Obama was scheduled to meet his economic team yesterday and hold his first news conference since winning Tuesday’s election as the country awaited signs of how he might tackle the economic crisis.
Obama, who stands to inherit the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, faced pressure to announce key economic jobs, including Treasury secretary, though there were no indications of when he might do so.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower for a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 443.48 points, or 4.85 percent, after plummeting almost 500 points, or about 5 percent, on Wednesday — the biggest fall ever on the day after a presidential election.
Though the timing of the Treasury secretary announcement was uncertain, names being considered for the job included Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker.
Summers and Volcker were on the 17-member transition economic advisory board that was to meet with Obama yesterday, a statement from the transition office said. Others scheduled to take part in the meeting included Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett and Roger Ferguson, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve board of governors.
Obama made his first key administration appointment by naming US Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, a brash veteran of former president Bill Clinton’s White House known for his take-no-prisoners style, as his chief of staff.
“I announce this appointment first, because the chief of staff is central to the ability of a president and administration to accomplish an agenda,” Obama said in a statement. “And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel.”
The choice was quickly criticized by Republicans, who accused Obama of reneging on his campaign promise that he would bring change to Washington and reach across the aisle to bridge divides between the parties.
“This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center,” House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said.
But not all Republicans viewed the appointment harshly. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Republican White House candidate John McCain, praised the choice.
“This is a wise choice by president-elect Obama,” Graham said. “Rahm knows Capitol Hill and has great political skills. He can be a tough partisan, but also understands the need to work together. He is well suited for the position.”
Aides would not say if there would be any announcements about administration jobs at the news conference.
US President George W. Bush pledged to do all he could to ensure a smooth transition before Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20.
“Over the next 75 days all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running,” Bush said at the White House.
He said he would discuss issues ranging from financial markets to the war in Iraq with Obama.
Obama said he and his wife Michelle looked forward to meeting Bush on Monday to start the transition process.
“I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation,” Obama said in a statement.
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