Earlier this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told NBC’s Today Show that she would favor former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to oversee the restructuring of the domestic auto industry. Volcker was recently appointed by President-elect Barack Obama as his top economic adviser.
“I would want the [car] czar to be appointed before one dollar was spent – so theoretically this week,” Pelosi said on the Today Show.
“I think somebody like Paul Volcker, who has bipartisan confidence and the public and private confidence,” she continued.
The appointment would rely on Congress passing the industry bailout bill being considered this week.
Volcker, known as “Tall Paul” because of his 6’7 height, is currently the chair-designate of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve under presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Later, he became active in the private financial sector before researching corruption in the Iraqi Oil for Food program for the United Nations.
