Geithner Pressured to Resign

The sorry state of the economy has some lawmakers fuming, so much so that they erupted into a shouting match with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at a Joint Economic Committee hearing on Thursday. House Republicans have been vociferous about their disapproval for some time, but more liberal Democrats are joining in now, too. One congressman said to Geithner, "the public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job." The Treasury secretary shot back: "What I can't take responsibility for is the legacy of crises you've bequeathed this country." Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) called on Geithner to resign this week. Earlier in the week, a government report charged the Fed, where Geithner served as president before joining the administration, with giving cushy deals to big banks when it bailed them out.