Greenspan successor still undecided

From correspondents in Washington
October 08, 2005
President George W Bush wants to pick a replacement for retiring Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as soon as possible, the White House said overnight.

Spokesman Scott McClellan described Bush as actively in pursuit of the next Fed chairman. Greenspan's 18-year run on the Federal Reserve is expected to end on January 31.

"As soon as possible," McClellan said when asked when Bush might choose a Greenspan successor. "The president will make a decision when he's ready to do so, but we are moving ahead on the nomination."

He called it a "priority appointment" and said Bush was thinking about it very carefully and his staff had been working hard on potential candidates.

"The president's staff has been working very hard at looking at individuals to bring to his attention and he's been thinking about it as well," McClellan said

"This is a priority appointment, the president is thinking about it very carefully and we continue to move forward on that nomination," he said. "I'm not going to speculate about the timing or any names."

Three potential candidates are regularly mentioned - Glenn Hubbard, a past adviser to Bush; Harvard economist Martin Feldstein; and Fed Governor-turned-White House adviser Ben Bernanke. But the White House has indicated it is also looking elsewhere, possibly toward Wall Street.

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