Washington: US Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned on Tuesday, and President George W. Bush nominated New York financier Henry M. Paulson Jr. as his replacement, another chapter in a shake-up to revive Bush's troubled presidency.
Henry M. Paulson "has a lifetime of business experience. He has intimate knowledge of financial markets and an ability to explain economic issues in clear terms," Bush said in an announcement in the White House's Rose Garden.
Paulson is chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs. White House officials believed that a Wall Street executive with his talents could make the case better for the administration's economic program than Snow, who joined the government from the presidency of the freight railroad CSX Corp. with a Ph.D. in economics.
Paulson called the U.S. economy "truly a marvel, but we cannot take it for granted. We must take steps to maintain our competitive edge in the world."
Snow, praised by Bush for showing ''strong leadership,'' has been Treasury secretary since February 2003. His departure has been rumored for more than a year.
In a statement, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke praised Snow for his ''years of dedicated and able service'' and said he looked forward to working with Paulson, described by Bernanke as ''highly respected throughout the financial world.'' The Federal Reserve is the U.S. central bank.
Paulson has led Goldman Sachs since May 1999. Goldman Sachs is considered among the premier financial firms on Wall Street and has sent a number of its top executives to high positions in Washington.
Speculation that Paulson would take over from Snow increased after Joshua Bolten became the new White House chief of staff. Bolten is a former Goldman Sachs executive who had worked with Paulson and was leading the effort to find a replacement for Snow.
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