Geithner Mulls Stepping Down: Report

In order to take a break from government service, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is considering leaving his post after President Barack Obama and Congress reach an agreement on raising the national debt ceiling, Bloomberg News reported.

Geithner however, has not yet made up his mind on whether or not he’ll leave the administration and has said to top aides his decision hinges on what is reached by both sides.

While the administration and Congress are at a standstill over raising the limit, the Treasury secretary has said the U.S. will face a default if Congress doesn’t raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2nd.

A potential exit by Geithner would signal a complete shakeup in Obama’s original economic team as Economist Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, is scheduled to leave his post in early August to return to the University of Chicago.

The absence of both would mean Obama would need to fill the posts in an election cycle - one in which Republicans are trying to capitalize on the president’s handling of the U.S. economy and a slowdown GDP growth

U.S. Labor Department figures contend unemployment rose to 9.1 percent in May. Meanwhile, bleak figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department show the economy grew at a meager 1.9 percent pace during the first quarter.

Geithner joined the White House from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York during the financial crisis and has played a vital role in turning around the U.S. economy.