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January 26, 2009 at 07:00 PM
Timothy Geithner was sworn in as the nation’s 75th Treasury secretary Monday, immediately after winning Senate confirmation of his nomination.
Members of the Senate ended up voting 60-34 to confirm Geithner.
Confirmation of Geithner, former president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, was delayed several weeks after it was disclosed that Geithner had failed to pay self-employment taxes on his earnings while he was a top official at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2004.
Earlier, during the Clinton administration, Geithner, 47, served as undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs.
As president of the New York Fed, Geithner has been a key player in government efforts to respond to the collapse of financial institutions and the turmoil in the housing and credit markets.
In September 2008, Geithner was involved in making the decision to bail out American International Group Inc., New York; in setting the terms for the bailout; and in bringing in Edward Liddy, the former chief executive of Allstate Corp., Northbrook, Ill., to be AIG’s chairman.
The New York Fed also is overseeing the government’s 79.9% ownership of AIG, and it recently designated a 3-member team of U.S. business leaders to manage the nation’s investment in AIG while AIG sells assets to pay back the government. At one point, AIG owed the government about $160 billion.
Frank Keating, president of the American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, sent Geithner congratulations.
“In his new role, Geithner will face great challenges,” Keating says in a statement. “We offer him our very best in helping to bring an economic and financial recovery to our nation. We also look forward to working with him as he leads initiatives to stabilize the financial markets and participates in financial services reform efforts. The ACLI will be seeking to enlist him in efforts to modernize the nation’s financial services system, including an enhanced federal presence in insurance regulation.”