The Daily Caller

The Daily Caller
Politics
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Rand Paul pushing for vote of no confidence in Tim Geithner

6:48 AM 08/10/2011
Matthew Boyle
Investigative Reporter

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul announced early Wednesday morning that he plans to push the Senate to hold a vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Unlike in the United Kingdom’s Parliament, where a no confidence vote would remove him, a U.S. Senate vote of no confidence would be a symbolic measure that sends a signal to the president.

“The stock market gave a vote of no confidence to Timothy Geithner yesterday and for the past 11 days,” Paul said in a statement. “Geithner has shown no acumen in predicting, diagnosing, or treating America’s economic woes. The time has come for him to resign.”

Earlier this summer it was widely speculated that Geithner would resign after the debt ceiling deal was complete. But as The Daily Caller reported this week, Geithner and the Treasury Department said he won’t be leaving. “Secretary Geithner has let the President know that he plans to stay on in his position at Treasury,” Jenni Lecompte, the assistant secretary for public affairs at Treasury, said in a statement. “He looks forward to the important work ahead on the challenges facing our great country.”

Paul first announced his plan to call for a no confidence vote against Geithner in a Tuesday evening appearance on Fox News Channel’s Hannity. “I’m going to introduce legislation tomorrow that will call for the resignation of Timothy Geithner,” Paul said on the show. “It will be a no vote of no confidence. And I think really, his only chance to turn his presidency around is to get somebody to replace Timothy Geithner who’s failed at every term.”

Several Democratic senators initiated a major push for a no confidence vote against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2007 during the Bush administration. The vote didn’t materialize, as too few senators were on board with Democratic efforts, even though seven Republicans voted with Democrats in a 53–38 cloture vote.

The political will might be there for a no confidence vote this time around, though, as Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States credit rating for the first time in history. The S&P downgrade, from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook, came after the debt ceiling compromise deal. Some Republicans have called for Geithner’s immediate resignation in the wake of the downgrade.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has also asked Geithner to step down. If he wouldn’t step down on his own, DeMint requested that President Obama see to it that Geithner is removed. (RELATED: Bachmann calls for ‘immediate resignation’ of Geithner)

It remains unclear whether other Republican senators will join Paul in calling for the no confidence vote, or whether Republican leadership in the Senate will support him. A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did not immediately return The Daily Caller’s request for comment. Also, at the time of publication, no other tea party-minded senators had signed onto Paul’s call for the no confidence vote.

Tags: Credit downgrade, Rand Paul, Tim Geithner
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  • Partypel

    We should add a new Amendment , call it the clean house amendment or vote of no confidence in government which will fire everyone…and start all over….the peaceful way…the true republic way

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_F2AASGJWPNMDYJWSKBSPYL4VM4 Cortney M

    I knew this would happen. A black man as president would turn everyone into
    sick, racist boobs to the point that they won’t hide it anymore! You and your
    ilk are racist, bigot scum and I hope you drink yourself to death, then there
    would be one less black-hating racist turd in the world!

    • Anonymous

      What about all of the white hating racist turds. I believe I’ve seen more of them.

  • Pingback: Minnesota College Republicans

  • bigdave

    “THERE IS NO CHANCE WE WILL BE DOWNGRADED, ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE” TIMMY TURBO TAX CHEAT…..UH, WHERE IS THE LEFTSTREAM MEDIA?! THEY ARE AS ABSENT AS THEY WERE WHEN THE LITTLE TWERP REID WAS DOING A SPIN-JOB ON THE DEBT CEILING, FROM ACCUSING REPUBLICANS FOR WANTING TO HEAP MORE DEBT AND TAXES ONTO THE PEOPLE, IN HIS MISERABLE 2006 SPEECH, THEN HE WANTS AN INCREASE IN 2011 ACCUSING THE BABY-PUBS OF HOLDING THE COUNTRY HOSTAGE BY TRYING TO STOP THE INSANE SPENDING!!! ALL WHACKJOBS, DEMORATS AND THEIR CO-CONSPIRATORS IN THE MEDIA. ITS THE MEDIA WHICH NEEDS TO BE CLEANED OUT OF ALL THE LEFTISTS…TRAITORS ALL!!

  • bigdave

    “I DON’T NEED NO STINKING TAXES GEITNER” IS A TYPICAL OBAMA APPOINTEE….CLUELESS, INEFFICIENT, INEXPERIENCED AND CERTAINLY NO THREAT TO THE MESIAH HIMSELF! AFTER ALL, OBAMBOOZLER WANTS NO ONE AROUND WHO HAS A GREATER GRASP OF THINGS THAN HIM, NO ONE WITH PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AS CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE IS MORE DESIREABLE, BUT THEY SOON WALK/RUN OUT THE DOOR,  AND CERTAINLY NO ONE WANTED WITH AN IQ ABOVE A HAMSTER, SO HERE COMES DEBBIE BLABBERMOUTH SHULTZ. AND NOW THE NATION GETS TO SUFFER FROM THESE INSUFFERABLE CARTOON CHARACTERS KNOWN AS THE DEMOC RAT PARTY.

  • MrRad

    Absolutely….and may something be done with Bernanke before he completely destroys the economy.

  • Drumrgrl56

    Geithner remains because he knows where “all the bodies are buried”.

  • kingfish

    We just witnessed the ONLY organization on the face of the earth (besides China) who would tell Obama, his Treasury Sec Geithner, and Congress “NO”…Standard & Poors.   Congress and the federal agencies are even ignoring GAO findings and recommendations.  If they WEREN’T ignoring them, and if the internal/external auditors and all the agency Inspector Generals were doing their jobs, these ongoing crimes could not exist. 

    What a lovely sight after NOT ONE internal or external auditor, the SEC, the FBI, the DOJ, etc. would lift a finger to stop the never-ending Treasury-FED thefts and crimes. The Federal Reserve just put their own boys (Geithner and Paulson) into the U.S. Treasury bank vault and proceeded to “help themselves” to the people’s money….over $16 TRILLION.  What’s more, they “continue” to do it.

    I hope S&P downgrades them again.  It was a pleasure to see Fannie-Freddie get downgraded after their YEARS of mismanagement and executive thefts. But Barney & company STILL aren’t in jail for their part in the schemes.

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