May 12, 1999
Web posted at: 6:33 p.m. EDT (2233 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 12) -- Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has been training for years to replace his boss, Robert Rubin, as the head of the department. Now he's poised to get that chance.

President Bill Clinton Wednesday named Summers, 44, as his choice to succeed Rubin, who is resigning from the post. Though some tough questioning is expected during confirmation hearings, the Senate is likely to approve the former Harvard economics professor.

"I look forward to continuing Treasury's excellent working relationship with the Federal Reserve and to working closely on a bipartisan basis with members of Congress on the full range of issues that we face," Summers said at Wednesday's White House announcement ceremony.

Larry Summers

The administration is careful to point out that as Rubin's heir apparent, Summers will follow the economic course that has so far proved successful.

"He has always been Bob Rubin's partner in many, many ways, working with him to balance the budget, to strengthen Social Security, to reform the IRS, to build a stronger economy at home and abroad. He has a close working relationship not only with Chairman Greenspan, but with key finance ministers and central bankers around the world," Clinton said.

As deputy secretary, Summers was key in the bailout of Mexico, IRS reform and, most recently, he's been Treasury's chief trouble-shooter on the Asian economic crisis.

"He is a person of extraordinary talent and judgment," said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Wednesday.

Summers' appointment requires approval by the GOP-controlled Senate. Initial Capitol Hill reaction to the nomination was favorable, though guarded.

Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles (R-Oklahoma) said, "I think most people like Larry Summers. He's a likable fellow. But ... there's a lot of questions he'll have to answer to."

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) predicted the nomination would be approved. "I believe Larry Summers will be the secretary of the Treasury," Gramm told CNNfn.

Rubin, Summers differ in style and background

But there are some concerns over the differences in background and style between Rubin and Summers.

Rubin, who is highly respected by members of both parties, is seen as more politically savvy than Summers. And some Republicans are concerned that Summers is more liberal than his centrist, market-oriented boss.

Robert Rubin

The styles between the two men is a study in contrasts as well. While the former head of Goldman, Sachs & Co. comes across as relaxed and amiable, Summers is considered to be an intense person who is sometimes described as arrogant. Such differences could prove to be a factor since Treasury secretary is one of the few jobs in Washington where the wrong choice can throw financial markets into a tailspin

In recent months, Rubin and other top administration officials have worked hard to build Summers' public image. Rubin, who once delighted in gently ribbing Summers in public, has lately shown more deference, asking "Dr. Summers" for his views. Vice President Al Gore has referred to Rubin and Summers as "by far the best team our country has ever had at the Treasury Department."

And the outgoing Treasury head has already called some GOP senators in support of Summers' nomination.

"At Treasury, we will have a new secretary, subject to the will of the Senate, who is one of the truly outstanding people that I have known in my life. Larry Summers is someone I have known for many, many years, and he possesses an extraordinary combination of great intellect, deep experience in the broad range of issues that he deals with, and an acute practical common sense, as well as a very good sense of humor about himself," Rubin said at Wednesday's White House ceremony.

Summers comes from academia. He was Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University from 1987 until 1993. He was named a professor of economics at Harvard in 1983, the youngest tenured professor in the University's history at age 28.

Summers joined the Clinton Administration in 1993 as the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs after serving at the World Bank as the vice president of development economics and chief economist.

Eizenstat nominated for No. 2 slot

If his nomination is approved, Summers' vacant post would be filled Stuart Eizenstat, a senior State Department official who was a top adviser to President Jimmy Carter.

"The great American job-machine is the envy of the entire world. I take it as our essential mandate to do everything possible to continue the remarkable economic performance which the Clinton-Gore Administration has given the American people and indeed the world at large," Eizenstat said.

Stuart Eizenstat

Eizenstat came to the Clinton Administration as the U.S representative to the European Union in 1993, before serving as an undersecretary of commerce and then undersecretary of state.

Before joining the administration, Eizenstat was a partner and vice chairman of the law firm Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, serving as chairman of its Washington office. He concurrently served as Adjunct Lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

CNN's Kathleen Koch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wednesday, May 12, 1999

• Treasury Secretary Rubin resigns
• Larry Summers 'prepared' to step into Rubin's shoes
• A glimpse of Rubin in the White House
• Transcript: Clinton announces Rubin resignation; Summers, Eizenstat nominations
• Transcript: Rubin announces resignation
• Transcript: Summers accepts Treasury secretary nomination
• Transcript: Eizenstat accepts deputy Treasury secretary nomination
• Senate refuses to close 'gun-show loophole'
• McCain on the march
• Burton continues to probe Clinton-Gore campaign finances
• Gingrich blasts administration, media and hollywood on Kosovo and Littleton
• Administration funds 100,000th cop
• Elizabeth Dole opposes concealed weapons law, backs mandatory safety locks
• Senate spotlights nuclear security lapses
• White House Web site back online
• FCC: Make sure emergency cell phone calls go through
• Congressional bargainers approve $11.6 billion for Kosovo, defense
• House GOP sets Social Security vote
• Democrats: Bush too busy for Texas
• Bill ending Internet gambling clears Senate subcommittee
• Bill Bradley says hard work pays off
• Constitutional amendment turns from possible victory to likely defeat
• Welfare to what? States track down those gone from the rolls
• State studies find varying work rates
• Former first lady calls for more Republican women leaders
• Willey says she knows who made alleged threats
• Mrs. Clinton to travel to Macedonia
• Former Florida House speaker, wife, guilty of tax evasion

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