Spokesman for the former governor dismissed rumors
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Former Gov. Jon Corzine at the Statehouse in this 2010 file photo.TRENTON — As speculation about how long Timothy Geithner will remain as U.S. Treasury secretary simmered today, former Gov. Jon Corzine’s name began to bubble up as a possible replacement.
Corzine, considered for the nation’s top financial office after Obama was elected, has emerged on speculative short lists as someone who could take over if Geithner exited before the president’s first term expires.
Several sources close to Corzine while he was still in public office said today the former governor has always had an interest in holding the job.
But the political climate in Washington could make Corzine’s selection impossible, insiders said. The country faces dire economic prospects and a hyperpartisan divide in Congress.
The New York Times reported today Geithner will likely stay through the remainder of Obama’s first term, but hasn’t made up his mind and could depart sooner because of family concerns and the strain of years in Washington. Media outlets from the Associated Press to the Los Angeles Times reported his imminent departure was a possibility.
The uncertainty about Geithner’s future at the Treasury spurred speculation in media outlets ranging from CNBC and Reuters to Politico and MarketWatch that Corzine, a former U.S. senator and Goldman Sachs chairman, could replace him.
It was dismissed today by Corzine spokesman Josh Zeitz.
"This has all been idle speculation," he said. "It’s just another example of how the 24-hour news cycle, when it has nothing else to report, finds a bunch of coincidental evidence."
Since leaving public office, Corzine has worked at New York investment firm MF Global, a fledgling company he vowed to transform into a power player on Wall Street.
"All I understand and based on all his behavior he has no intention to do anything other than invest his heart and soul into reinvesting MF Global into a world class investment bank," said Angelo Genova, a Newark attorney and Democratic backer.
But in a recent bond offering at MF Global, investors were told if Corzine left to take a federal appointed position before 2013, the interest rate in the payout would increase by 1 percentage point.
Corzine has been working 90-hour weeks and traveling the world to try to revive MF Global’s standing, Zeitz said.
While Corzine works on Wall Street, his background in the beltway isn’t forgotten. Corzine has been a powerful Democratic fundraiser for years, heading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2004 elections. In that role, he helped back a then relatively unknown Senate candidate from Illinois named Barack Obama.
Although Corzine endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary, Obama campaigned for Corzine during his 2009 reelection campaign. In April, Corzine hosted a fundraiser in Manhattan for Obama’s own reelection campaign. The former governor has also become a Wall Street liaison for the president.
Corzine’s time at Goldman Sachs is also bolstering talk of him moving to the Treasury. He started as a trader in 1975 and served as chairman from 1994 to 1999.
"As much as Wall Street is unpopular these days, they are a huge driver of the world economy and the Treasury secretary has to understand how it works," said Julie Roginsky, a top Democratic strategist. "However Goldman Sachs has become a poster child for everything that’s wrong with Wall Street."
While Corzine was at Goldman Sachs before the 2008 financial crisis, his time there could still become a liability considering the public outcry against Wall Street that followed the recession.
"The politics of it might be problematic," said former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.).
By Ginger Gibson and Salvador Rizzo/Statehouse Bureau