Skip to main content

President Obama is expected to pick White House chief of staff Jack Lew to succeed Timothy Geithner as secretary of the Treasury

Open this photo in gallery:

President Barack Obama is expected to nominate White House chief of staff Jack Lew as the 76th secretary of the U.S. Treasury. His loopy signature has been creating buzz as it will appear on U.S. bank notes if he becomes secretary.

1 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

Outgoing secretary Timothy Geithner’s signature was also under scrutiny when he took over the job. As Marketplace, an American radio program, <a href="http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/geithner-interviews/timothy-geithners-signature-not-fit-print">reports</a>, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York wanted something more readable to appear on U.S. bank notes.

2 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

Lawrence Summers was treasury secretary from July 2, 1999, to Jan. 20, 2001, under President Bill Clinton. He went on to become president of Harvard University after his term. His resume also includes a stint as chief economist at the World Bank.

3 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

John Connally’s appointment as treasury secretary in 1971 was a controversial one on the part of President Richard Nixon, a Republican. Nixon chose the Democrat in response to the party’s gains during the congressional election in 1970. Connally held the post when the U.S. decided to abandon the gold standard.

4 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

Joseph Barr is the U.S. Treasury’s shortest-serving secretary. He was appointed on Dec. 21, 1968, to hold the post until Lyndon B. Johnson’s term as president finished on Jan. 20, 1969.

5 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was secretary under two presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Morgenthau was instramental in financing the U.S.’s efforts in the Second World War by creating a system for marketing war bonds.

6 of 7
Open this photo in gallery:

Andrew Mellon was appointed secretary by President Warren Harding in 1921, and his term continued under subsequent presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. When the Great Depression hit near the end of 1929, Mellon’s policies of increasing taxes while cutting spending faced mounting criticism from the American people. Mellon took a post as ambassador to Great Britain in 1932.

7 of 7

Interact with The Globe