Other Candidates
Clinton’s shortlist may also include Gary Gensler, chief financial officer of the Clinton campaign and former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Sheila Bair, a former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and now president of Washington College. Bair said she isn’t interested in the job.
If Clinton is “seen as appointing someone who represents a narrow financial interest to a central position like Treasury secretary, there will be a perception that the deck is stacked,” said Marcus Stanley from the Americans for Financial Reform, a non-partisan group in Washington.
Brainard would likely be an unpopular pick among progressive Democrats. While working at the department under former President Bill Clinton, Brainard, 54, helped implement the North American Free Trade Agreement, now seen as a mistake by many liberals including Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders. Later, as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs under Obama, she worked on trade deals viewed as precursors for Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation agreement with Pacific Rim countries that Congress has so far declined to ratify.
But Brainard has already passed the Senate confirmation process, most recently for her role at the Fed, which she took in June 2014. Republicans, though, have suggested that her campaign donations to Clinton and media speculation that she may be chosen to lead Treasury may represent a conflict of interest in her current position.
Sandberg, 47, is known to roll her eyes at speculation linking her to the Treasury job, but the Facebook chief operating officer is nonetheless viewed as a Clinton favorite. She offers a mix of Silicon Valley business acumen and Treasury experience, having served as chief of staff when Summers was secretary. That’s her Achilles heel, too: Liberals regard her as part of the old guard.
Ferguson would be the first minority to lead the Treasury. The 65-year-old head of TIAA is a favorite on Wall Street and was Fed vice chairman from 1999 to 2006. He’s a member of Google owner Alphabet Inc.’s board. Ferguson was a close ally of former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and was once considered a possible Greenspan successor.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.