Departures

Top Obama Adviser Romer Quits

After butting heads with Larry Summers?

Another Obama staffer heads for the exit. White House officials announced Thursday that Christina Romer, one of the president’s top economic advisers, is leaving the administration. Despite the fact that Romer and the president meet almost daily, National Journal reports that she was “frustrated” with the influence that Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, has had over the president. “She doesn’t feel that she has a direct line to the president,” a source told the magazine. “She would be giving different advice than Larry Summers, who does have a direct line to the president. She is ostensibly the chief economic adviser, but she doesn’t seem to be playing that role.” Romer will leave her post Sept. 3 to return to the University of California, Berkeley, where she was an economics professor, according to Politico. “Christy Romer has provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery,” said Obama.