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Obama to Select New Chief Economic Advisor

   VOA News 07 January 2011
   Gene Sperling (file photo)

Photo: AP

   Gene Sperling (file photo)

   Sources  in  the White House say U.S. President Barack Obama will name
   Gene Sperling as the new head of the National Economic Council. Â
   Sperling, who headed the NEC under former President Bill Clinton, will
   succeed  Lawrence  Summers,  another  top  economic  official from the
   Clinton-era.   Sperling  has  spent  the first two years of the Obama
   administration   as   a   counselor   to  Treasury  Secretary  Timothy
   Geithner.   The  head of the National Economic Council  oversees the
   administration's economic policies.
   Mr. Obama will make the announcement Friday during a visit at a window
   manufacturer  located  outside  of  Washington,  D.C., hours after the
   December unemployment figures are released.
   Sperling's  appointment is the latest major staff change for the Obama
   administration  as it begins dealing with a new Republican majority in
   the  House of Representatives, as well as planning for the president's
   likely re-election campaign in 2012.
   On  Thursday,  Mr.  Obama  named  another ex-Clinton official, William
   Daley, as his new chief of staff, replacing Rahm Emmanuel. Â

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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