US Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned today and President George Bush nominated New York financier Henry Paulson as his replacement in yet shake-up to revive Mr Bush's troubled presidency.
Henry Paulson "has a lifetime of business experience. He has intimate knowledge of financial markets and an ability to explain economic issues in clear terms," Mr Bush said in an announcement in the White House's Rose Garden.
Mr Paulson is chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs. White House officials believed that a Wall Street executive with his talents could make the case better for t he administration's economic program than Snow, who joined the government from the presidency of the freight railroad CSX Corp with a PhD in economics.
Mr Paulson called the US economy "truly a marvel, but we cannot take it for granted. We must take steps to maintain our competitive edge in the world."
Mr Snow, praised by Mr Bush for showing "strong leadership," has been Treasury secretary since February 2003. His departure has been rumoured for more than a year.
In a statement, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke praised Mr Snow for his "years of dedicated and able service" and said he looked forward to working with Mr Paulson, described by Mr Bernanke as "highly respected throughout the financial world." The Federal Reserve is the US central bank.
Mr Paulson has led Goldman Sachs since May 1999. Goldman Sachs is considered among the premier financial firms on Wall Street and has sent a number of its top executives to high positions in Washington.
Speculation that Mr Paulson would take over from Snow increased after Joshua Bolten became the new White House chief of staff. Mr Bolten is a former Goldman Sachs executive who had worked with Mr Paulson and was leading the effort to find a replacement for Snow.
The naming of the new treasury secretary is part of a series of changes within the White House staff to rejuvenate Bush's presidency, mired in the lowest approval ratings since he took office in 2001.