Frustrated by months of congressional inaction, President Obama on Saturday made a recess appointment of Jeffrey Goldstein as undersecretary of treasury for domestic finance.
Goldstein, who was a top official of the World Bank and has extensive experience in the private sector, will oversee the Treasury Department's policies that relate to credit unions and other financial institutions. He has been working in the Treasury Department in an advisory capacity waiting for his confirmation. Goldstein will be the boss of Michael Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions who is the main go to person in the Treasury Department for credit union issues.
Most recently, Goldstein was managing director of Hellman & Friedman LLC, a private equity investment firm.
Obama made the appointments of Goldstein and 14 other individuals, which expire when the Senate goes to recess at the end of 2011, because he was frustrated with the Senate's pace in confirming his nominees. In the statement accompanying the announcement, the Obama administration said that the administration has 217 nominees pending before the Senate, and they have been pending for an average of 101 days.
The 15 individuals can begin serving immediately and if Congress confirms them they will be allowed to serve out their full term in the post.
