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Kudlow on Lew as Treasury secretary: ‘Give me a phone book and I’ll find somebody more qualified’ [AUDIO]

Jeff Poor Media Reporter
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On Laura Ingraham’s radio on Thursday, CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow explained why President Barack Obama’s nomination of Jack Lew as the Timothy Geithner’s replacement to head the Treasury Department was a “nutty appointment.”

The White House has not decided whether it will submit a budget before Feb. 4 as legally required, and Kudlow pointed to Lew as part of the problem. Kudlow cited Lew’s lack of qualifications as another reason that Obama’s appointment was “completely irresponsible.”

“You know, this whole thing is kind of centered around the Senate, which hasn’t done a budget in 1,351 days — so whatever that is, four years,” Kudlow said. “Now the White House might not even submit a budget, and now the White House had taken the budget director and chief of staff and put him over the Treasury, where Jack Lew is completely — and I mean completely unqualified to be Treasury secretary.”

“He has no financial experience,” “The Kudlow Report” host continued. “He has no international experience. He has no currency experience. He ripped off Citibank for a couple of million dollars. He was there for one year. I mean, there’s about a million people — give me a phone book, and I’ll find somebody more qualified for Treasury Secretary than former OMB director Jack Lew. This is all of a piece. It is completely irresponsible.”

Kudlow admitted that despite a litany of baggage and a track record of being uncooperative, he would like still be confirmed, since Democrats control the Senate.

“He’ll probably be confirmed, because there are more Democrats in the Senate,” Kudlow replied. “He’ll probably be confirmed, but it’s most regrettable. He’s actually to the left of [Timothy] Geithner. I mean, Lew is the guy if you read all these accounts in the Bob Woodward book and what not, Lew is the guy who stymied the budget talks last year between Obama and Boehner. I think at one point, Boehner told Obama, ‘Get this guy out of the room.’ Lew is a big taxer. He won’t cut spending. He is a left-left liberal guy, and as I say, he has no standing on Wall Street or any of these world financial capitals. So it’s a nutty appointment.”

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