Brilliant but blunt-spoken White House economic adviser Larry Summers said yesterday he will leave his job, marking a major staff shake-up for US president Barack Obama as he faces growing pressure to revive the sluggish economy.
Mr Summers, a former treasury secretary who had grappled with the Mexican peso crisis and other global financial problems in the 1990s, brought years of experience in economic policymaking to his job as director of the White House National Economic Council.
Those close to Mr Obama said the president relied heavily on Mr Summers's advice during the depths of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
But Mr Summers, who will return to his teaching job at Harvard University by the end of the year, has been criticised by some liberal Democrats as too close to Wall Street. There were also a number of reports of clashes on the economic team within the White House.
The move comes as analysts say Mr Obama needs to signal a fresh course on the economy, with confidence in his leadership on the issue slumping amid predictions of steep losses for his Democratic allies in the November 2nd congressional elections.
Mr Obama's poll numbers on economic leadership are particularly low, with unemployment at 9.6 percent.
Some Democrats say Mr Obama should consider tapping someone from outside the administration to fill Mr Summers's job. Mr Obama has been criticised for having few businesspeople in the senior ranks of his administration. Some have also urged the administration to name more women to the economic team.
Ann Fudge, former chairman and chief executive of Young & Rubicam Brands, Laura Tyson, a former economic adviser to the Clinton administration, and Mr Summers's deputies Jason Furman and Diana Farrell are among those who could be considered.
General Electric chairman Jeffrey Immelt and Richard Parsons, chairman of Citigroup, are among other names that have been have mentioned.
Mr Summers will be the third high-ranking economic official to depart, leaving treasury secretary Timothy Geithner as the sole senior member of that team still in his original job.
White House budget director Peter Orszag stepped down in July and White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman, Christina Romer, left her job at the beginning of this month.
Mr Summers said in a statement released by the White House that he was "looking forward to returning to Harvard to teach and write" about the economy and finance.
Mr Obama credited Mr Summers with having helped to guide the country "from the depths of the worst recession since the 1930s to renewed growth".
He said he would continue to seek Mr Summers's "advice and his counsel on an informal basis".
Reuters