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Obama won't name new Fed chairman until fall, advisers say

President Obama 'puts more stock' in private advice than in public advice about who should replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, say presidential advisers Gene Sperling and Dan Pfeiffer.

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Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor
Gene Sperling (left), director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president for economic policy, and Dan Pfeiffer, an Obama senior adviser, speak at the St. Regis Hotel on July 31, 2013, in Washington.

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Gene Sperling, head of the National Economic Council, and Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to President Obama, were guests at the July 31 Monitor Breakfast.

Choosing a successor for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke:

Pfeiffer: "The president has not made a decision. I would not expect an announcement until the fall."

The spirited debate over whether Fed official Janet Yellen or former White House aide Lawrence Summers should be the next Fed chair:

Pfeiffer: The president "puts a lot more stock in private advice than public advice."

The White House view of House Republicans' policy prescriptions:

Sperling: "In the House of Representatives ... pro-growth fiscal policy [advocated by the president] is turned on its head. When you just call for these deep cuts ... you are hurting growth in the short term, you are leaving no room to invest in the things that are critical...."

Why Obama has been playing down the Keystone XL pipeline's economic impact:

Pfeiffer: "The core of the Republican jobs package ... is [to] vote to repeal 'Obamacare' for the 40th time and build the Keystone pipeline.... The president's point is that that is not a jobs strategy."

Whether anything significant can be accomplished in these politically polarized times:

Pfeiffer: "I would not rule anything out.... The gridlock of the moment is not predictive of what is going to happen in the future on big issues."

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