White House Wants Geithner to Stay at Treasury

The White House is putting "intense pressure" on him to reconsider his plans to leave

Timothy Geithner may stay put through the president's term after all, according to a New York Times report on Wednesday night that cited "intense White House pressure, according to officials familiar with the discussions." The caveat is that Geithner hasn't "notified the White House of his intentions, and family considerations could still win out, advisers say." Still, the odds that the Treasury Secretary will remain at his post seem more likely. Politico's Morning Money translated "intense pressure" to mean "generally code for: Sorry, buddy, you're stuck here," but noted that he "would still be inclined to go if a suitable replacement can be found."

Geithner had been weighing leaving since earlier this year, according to The Times. In late June, before the debt ceiling drama hit fever pitch, Bloomberg had reported that Geithner was considering leaving the administration after the debate was resolved. On Tuesday, the secretary spoke with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and didn't indicate whether he was leaving: "I haven't made that decision yet. And you know, we've got a lot of challenges, president's got a lot of challenges, and, you know, I got other pressures on me, too. But...I'll make that decision at the right moment," he said.