Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has indicated to White House officials that he may step down once President Obama strikes a deal with congressional Republicans about raising the national debt ceiling, Bloomberg has learned. Geithner has long argued that Congress must raise the $14.3 billion debt limit if the U.S. wants to maintain its creditworthiness, avoid defaulting on its loans, and avert another financial crisis. An agreement must be reached by August 2. 

According to Bloomberg, Geithner has expressed a desire to take a break from government work after serving as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and later Obama's treasury secretary during the financial crisis. If Geithner leaves, Bloomberg adds, it "would complete the turnover in Obama's original economic team" as Republicans seek "to turn the 2012 election into a referendum on Obama's handling of the economy." Council of Economic Advisers Chairs Austan Goolsbee and Christina Romer, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag have all departed.

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Uri Friedman