The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 21, 2011

Obama Taps GE CEO for Economic Panel 
-------------------------------------



President Obama has tapped another top corporate figure for a key White
House role. On Thursday, Obama said he is naming General Electric CEO
Jeffrey Immelt to head the newly formed President's Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness. The council will replace the former Economic Recovery
Advisory Board, which had been chaired by Paul Volcker, the former chair
of the Federal Reserve. Volcker will step down when his panel's mandate
expires next month. Immelt's appointment has drawn scrutiny in part
because he opposed Obama's presidential candidacy. During the 2008
elections, Immelt donated to Hillary Clinton as well as Republicans John
Mc Cain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. His appointment follows the
recent hiring of former commerce secretary and JPMorgan Chase executive
William Daley as White House chief of staff.



.