Obama nominates ‘low-key master of policy’ Lew for Treasury

President Obama on Thursday nominated his “low-key” Chief of Staff Jack Lew to be the next secretary of the Treasury.

Obama described the Washington veteran as a master of policy and said he knew “very few people with greater integrity” in a ceremony in which he also lavished praised on Timothy Geithner, the man Lew would succeed if the Senate confirms him.

{mosads}“When the history books are written, Tim Geithner is going to go down as one of our finest secretaries of the Treasury,” said Obama, who recalled having to convince Geithner’s wife to allow him to stay on for his full first term.

“That is why, when he was considering leaving a few years ago, I had to personally get on my knees with Carol to convince him to stay on a little bit longer,” Obama said.

In picking Lew, Obama is elevating a trusted insider and budget expert to be his administration’s economic point man at a time when tax and spending fights are dominating Washington and financial reform is taking a back seat.

“Jack has my complete trust, I know I am not alone in that,” Obama said. “I hope the Senate will confirm him as quickly as possible.

“Over the years he has built a reputation as a master of policy who can work with members of both parties and forge principled compromises,” Obama said.

As chief of staff, Lew was a central player in two failed attempts at a grand bargain on deficit reduction with House Republicans. The first effort came as the government negotiated raising the debt ceiling in August 2011, and the second took place last month as the nation teetered on a “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending cuts.

In both cases, Obama and congressional Republicans mostly put off big decisions on spending, setting the stage for another fight in the next two months over raising the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling again.

Lew served as Obama’s budget director from August 2010 until January 2012 when he replaced William Daley as White House chief of staff.

Prior to becoming budget director, Lew served as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretary in charge of managing the operations of the State Department.

A staunch liberal and defender of entitlements programs, Lew prides himself on facilitating a deal between President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill on Social Security and on helping to craft a budget deal between President Clinton and a Republican Congress that led to years of budget surpluses. He served in the Clinton administration as budget director and deputy budget director.

Lew managed investments at Citigroup between his time in the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Lew, a New York City native, paid homage to his parents during the announcement.

“As a kid growing up in Queens, I had dreams of making a difference in the world. My dreams were nurtured in a home where the gifts of American freedom and liberty were cherished and never taken for granted,” he said.

“Serving in your administration has allowed me to live out the values my parents instilled in me,” he told Obama.

Lew has previously been confirmed without any “no” votes, but he is facing some opposition from Republicans this time.

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has vowed to oppose the nomination, arguing Lew misrepresented Obama’s 2012 budget by insinuating that it would lead to a balanced budget.

Lew’s nomination will go through the Senate Finance Committee, and chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Thursday called for a swift confirmation.

“Jack Lew has immense experience, and I look forward to a speedy but thorough nominations process,” he said.

Ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said that he is withholding judgment on Lew until the nominee outlines administration plans to cut spending to lower the national debt.

“As I told the president yesterday, it’s imperative that Mr. Lew outline the administration’s plans on tackling our unsustainable debt, what areas of federal spending should be cut, and what kind of reforms — from our tax code to our entitlement programs — are needed to get our fiscal house in order,” he said.

“Since Mr. Lew participated in numerous budget negotiations with Congress and with four consecutive years of over $1 trillion deficits, the American people deserve to know not only that this nominee is qualified for the job, but also what policies the White House supports to get federal spending under control.”

The second-most senior Republican on the committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he is withholding judgment until Lew explains his views on current negotiations over international interest rate benchmarks and over the transparency of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced shortly after Lew’s nomination that he would vote against the president.

“As a supporter of the president, I remain extremely concerned that virtually all of his key economic advisers have come from Wall Street,” he said. “In my view, we need a Treasury secretary who is prepared to stand up to corporate America and their powerful lobbyists and fight for policies that protect the working families in our country. I do not believe Mr. Lew is that person.”

Lew earned the ire of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) during debt-ceiling and fiscal-cliff negotiations to the point where, according to Bob Woodward’s book The Price of Politics, Republicans tried to ban him from budget negotiations for being condescending.

Despite the criticism, Senate Republican aides expect Lew to be confirmed. Democrats hold 55 seats in the Senate including two Independents that conference with the party, and some argue it would be bad optics for the GOP to force a vacancy at Treasury when Geithner steps down at the end of the month.

Democrats argue the only substantive charges against Lew are that he has passionately defended the president’s policies.

A leading financial trade group offered praise for the nomination.

“Given his experience in the government and private sector, Mr. Lew is well-suited for the job especially at a time when Washington must come together to address our debt situation and put our nation on a long-term fiscally sustainable path,” said Rob Nichols of the Financial Services Forum

But the left-leaning Public Citizen argued Lew’s nomination would mean favorable treatment of Wall Street would continue.

“It is imperative that the administration finally break from Wall Street on economic and regulatory policy. Lew’s expected nomination suggests we’re in for more of the same,” said Robert Weissman of Public Citizen.

Obama joked at the announcement that he considered rescinding Lew’s nomination on Wednesday when the media highlighted his illegible signature.

“Jack assures me he’s going to work to make at least one letter legible in order not to debase our currency,” Obama said.

— Updated at 2:03 p.m.