The Senate Finance Committee said Wednesday that it will hold a nomination hearing Jan. 21 for Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner.
The committee originally wanted to schedule the hearing Friday, but Sens. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., objected to that timing after the revelation that Mr. Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes on time. Their objections will delay consideration of the nomination until after President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.
The committee revealed Tuesday that Mr. Geithner had failed to pay roughly $34,000 of taxes while employed at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2005. Also, he employed a legal immigrant whose status lapsed for about three months.
President-elect Obama said Wednesday he believed Mr. Geithner would still be confirmed. The nomination is supported by Senate Democrats. Sen. Charles Grassley, the committee's ranking Republican, said Wednesday that the economy would play a role.
"We're in this terrible economic condition," Sen. Grassley said in a TV interview. "We need a strong person in the secretary of Treasury office. He fits into that as a well qualified person, so these things have to be weighed."
