White House: Economic Team Worn Out

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Christina Romer was leaving her post as chair of the president's council for economic affairs because the whole economic team is exhausted—not because Romer had conflicts with National Economic Council head Larry Summers. Gibbs said that given the depth of the recession, the White House team had packed six years into their first 18 months. Romer is the second to depart; Peter Orszag recently resigned as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Romer played a major role in crafting President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, and so she’s had to play a big part in selling it to the public—a tough job as unemployment remains high. Reports circulated that Romer clashed with Summers, who’s not really a people person. Gibbs dismissed those claims, saying, "I bet there's not a CEA in history that has spent more time in front of the president than she has."