WASHINGTON— Lawrence Summers, a former U.S. Treasury secretary, called President Barack Obama Sunday to say he is pulling out of the contest to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Bloomberg Lawrence Summers
"I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation's ongoing economic recovery," Mr. Summers said in a letter to the president that followed the telephone call.
The move forces Mr. Obama to look to other potential candidates for the Fed job including Janet Yellen, the Fed's vice chairwoman; Donald Kohn, a former vice chairman; and former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Mr. Obama has said that he interviewed the first two. Mr. Geithner has said he isn't interested.
In a statement, Mr. Obama said he accepted Mr. Summers's decision. He described him as "a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom, and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today."
Mr. Summers, who was chairman of Mr. Obama's National Economic Council early in his presidency, had been widely believed to be the president's first choice for the Fed job, but opposition from liberals and women's groups—and, importantly, from some Senate Banking Committee Democrats—has been mounting.
For them, Mr. Summers became a symbol—a caricature, his admirers say—of all the failures of financial regulation that they said led to the devastating financial crisis.
In the past few weeks, the president has faced mounting attacks from his left flank on National Security Agency surveillance and on his decision to attack Syria—and that complicated the possible nomination of Mr. Summers.
"He was very clearly the president's choice," a former top administration official said. "After all the problems they had with the base, a big confirmation battle looked like a bridge to far.
"The biggest chunk of the problem was Syria and leaving him out there that long," the former official added. "You just can't do that."
Mr. Bernanke's second term is up Jan. 31, and he has signaled he doesn't want a third one.
Write to David Wessel at [email protected]
Bloomberg Lawrence Summers
"I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation's ongoing economic recovery," Mr. Summers said in a letter to the president that followed the telephone call.
The move forces Mr. Obama to look to other potential candidates for the Fed job including Janet Yellen, the Fed's vice chairwoman; Donald Kohn, a former vice chairman; and former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Mr. Obama has said that he interviewed the first two. Mr. Geithner has said he isn't interested.
In a statement, Mr. Obama said he accepted Mr. Summers's decision. He described him as "a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom, and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today."
Mr. Summers, who was chairman of Mr. Obama's National Economic Council early in his presidency, had been widely believed to be the president's first choice for the Fed job, but opposition from liberals and women's groups—and, importantly, from some Senate Banking Committee Democrats—has been mounting.
For them, Mr. Summers became a symbol—a caricature, his admirers say—of all the failures of financial regulation that they said led to the devastating financial crisis.
In the past few weeks, the president has faced mounting attacks from his left flank on National Security Agency surveillance and on his decision to attack Syria—and that complicated the possible nomination of Mr. Summers.
"He was very clearly the president's choice," a former top administration official said. "After all the problems they had with the base, a big confirmation battle looked like a bridge to far.
"The biggest chunk of the problem was Syria and leaving him out there that long," the former official added. "You just can't do that."
Mr. Bernanke's second term is up Jan. 31, and he has signaled he doesn't want a third one.
Write to David Wessel at [email protected]