WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Larry Summers on Tuesday announced plans to leave his job by the end of the year, marking a major staff shake-up as President Barack Obama struggles to get the economy back on track.
Summers said in a statement released by the White House that he was looking forward to returning to his teaching job at Harvard University and Obama said he would continue to seek Summers' counsel on an informal basis.
A former Treasury secretary known for his outspokenness, Summers brought years of experience in economic policymaking to his job as director of the White House National Economic Council. But he has been criticized by some liberal Democrats as too close to Wall Street and there were reports of clashes on the economic team.
Summers will be the third high-ranking economic official to depart, leaving Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as the sole senior member of that team still in his original job.
White House budget director Peter Orszag stepped down in July and White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer left her job at the beginning of this month.
(Reporting by Caren Bohan and Ross Colvin; Editing by Eric Beech) Keywords: OBAMA/ECONOMY SUMMERS (World Desk Americas, 202 898 8457) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Summers said in a statement released by the White House that he was looking forward to returning to his teaching job at Harvard University and Obama said he would continue to seek Summers' counsel on an informal basis.
A former Treasury secretary known for his outspokenness, Summers brought years of experience in economic policymaking to his job as director of the White House National Economic Council. But he has been criticized by some liberal Democrats as too close to Wall Street and there were reports of clashes on the economic team.
Summers will be the third high-ranking economic official to depart, leaving Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as the sole senior member of that team still in his original job.
White House budget director Peter Orszag stepped down in July and White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer left her job at the beginning of this month.
(Reporting by Caren Bohan and Ross Colvin; Editing by Eric Beech) Keywords: OBAMA/ECONOMY SUMMERS (World Desk Americas, 202 898 8457) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.