Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina called for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s immediate resignation Friday night in response to S&P downgrading the U.S. credit rating.
“The President should demand that Secretary Geithner resign and immediately replace him with someone who will help Washington focus on balancing our budget and allowing the private sector to create jobs,” DeMint said in a statement. “For months he opposed all efforts to reduce the debt in return for a debt ceiling increase. His opposition to serious spending and debt reforms has been reckless and now the American people will pay the price.”
DeMint, a hardline conservative Republican, also criticized the deal brokered by Congress to end the debt crisis as “not a serious attempt to solve our spending and debt problem.”
“The deal Congress just passed over conservative objections has already had its obvious effect, the loss of America’s credibility around the world,” he said.
S&P cited political dysfunction as one of the major reasons for the downgrade.