Facing opposition from women’s groups and key Democratic senators, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers withdrew Sunday from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Mr. Summers, a key architect of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan in 2009, informed President Obama of his decision in a phone call Sunday morning. Mr. Obama said in a statement that he accepted the decision.
Mr. Obama said he “will always be grateful to Larry for his tireless work and service on behalf of his country, and I look forward to continuing to seek his guidance and counsel in the future.”
“Larry was a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today,” Mr. Obama said.
The move leaves Janet Yellen, vice chairwoman of the Fed, as the obvious front-runner to replace Chairman Ben S. Bernanke when his term expires in January. Mr. Summers was said to have been Mr. Obama’s leading candidate.
In a letter to Mr. Obama, Mr. Summers said he didn’t want to go through what he predicted would be a contentious confirmation fight.
“I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interests of the Federal Reserve, the administration or ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery,” Mr. Summers wrote.
The prospects for a successful Summers nomination dimmed last week when a top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, announced that he wouldn’t support Mr. Summers.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Tester said the senator “believes we need a consensus builder to lead the Federal Reserve” and that he was “concerned about Mr. Summers’ history of helping to deregulate financial markets.”
Mr. Summers, a former White House economic adviser, recently reached out to another key Democrat on the committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as the debate intensified over his potential nomination.
Opposition from women’s groups also was damaging Mr. Summers’ candidacy. He came under fire in 2005, while he was president of Harvard University, after suggesting that women were not as capable as men in math and science.
Erica Payne, founder of the Agenda Project and a former deputy finance director for the Democratic National Committee, cheered the withdrawal and called on Mr. Summers to “be a real man” by endorsing Ms. Yellen publicly and “aggressively” lobbying the Senate for her confirmation.
“Republican Senators will have no choice but to vote to confirm her or to face the wrath of American women at the voting booth. And even the GOP isn’t that stupid. I mean seriously, hell hath no fury like women scorned by a bunch of old white male Republican Senators stopping the confirmation of the first female Fed Chair in American history,” Ms. Payne said.
Feminist groups also have raised more general concerns over the lack of women in top posts in the administration. If chosen, Ms. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Fed.
As Mr. Tester suggested, Mr. Summers also sparked opposition over his support while Treasury secretary under President Clinton for removing barriers that prevented financial institutions from consolidating their banking and investment subsidiaries.
Senators of both parties were opposed to his nomination, and many lawmakers wrote Mr. Obama a letter this summer urging him to appoint Ms. Yellen.
Other Democrats who were expected to join Mr. Tester in opposing Mr. Summers’ nomination were Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ms. Warren.
Their opposition could have left Mr. Obama in the position of needing Republican support just to get Mr. Summers’ nomination out of the banking committee. Democrats hold 12 of 22 seats on the committee.
Ms. Yellen’s service in government includes a stint on Mr. Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers in the late 1990s. From 2004 to 2011, she was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has served as Fed vice chairwoman since 2010.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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