Goolsbee Said to Be Picked to Head White House Economic Panel

Bloomberg - President Barack Obama will appoint Austan Goolsbee to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, replacing Christina Romer, according to an administration official.

Obama will announce his choice of Goolsbee, a former University of Chicago business school professor and campaign adviser, at a press conference today at 11 a.m. in Washington, said the official, who requested anonymity. As a sitting member of the council, Goolsbee does not require another Senate vote, allowing the White House to avoid at least one confirmation battle in Congress tied to the administration’s economic policies.

Romer last month announced she was leaving her post to return to teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. The Senate is scheduled to hold hearings later this month for Jacob Lew to replace Peter Orszag as head of the Office of Management and Budget.

Goolsbee, 41, also serves on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. It is unclear if he will have to relinquish these duties on becoming head of the CEA.

Goolsbee clashed with some members of Obama’s economic team, including National Economic Director Larry Summers, during the Obama administration’s intervention into the auto industry last year. Last month, he cautioned that the administration needed to be “mindful” about a double dip recessions.

“I don’t think we will have a double dip recession,” he said on CNN on Aug. 30. “But it’s -- clearly anybody should keep their eye on that.”