Apparently, people were ready for a czar. Instead, Geithner will be in charge of the task force:
The news, which administration officials e-mailed around last night, took industry executives by surprise. For days, they had been expecting an announcement that the job would go to celebrity financier Steven Rattner, the private-equity executive and former New York Times reporter. One exec told us: 'We would have preferred having a single, go-to person focused on the restructuring. This isn't bad, but the other would have been better.' Politico
Several people on a task force are better than a czar. It lessens the danger of getting suckered manufacturers. Obama's probably saving some cash too.
CNN: President Obama is creating a task force to oversee the restructuring of the auto industry, a senior administration official said Monday.
General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC face deadlines Tuesday for submitting plans to the administration detailing how they can turn themselves around.
The task force will include members from the Departments of Treasury, Labor, Transportation, Commerce, and Energy, the National Economic Council, the White House Office of Energy and Environment, the Council of Economic Advisers and the Environmental Protection Agency, the official said.
It will be overseen by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and NEC Director Larry Summers and provide advice and analysis about the auto industry.
Geithner will oversee the loan agreements with the automakers.
In addition, Ron Bloom, a nationally recognized restructuring expert, will join the administration's team as a senior adviser at the Treasury Department, the senior administration official said.
