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LEW TO TREASURY: Jack Lew is President Jack Lew is President Barack Obama ‘s current chief of staff, and until about 1:30 p.m. EST, he’s also serving as Washington, D.C.’s biggest open secret.

The White House leaked word this week that Obama has chosen Lew to replace Timothy Geithner as his next Treasury secretary, an appointment Obama will formalize this afternoon in an address. The unannounced announcement was enough to get Republicans grousing publicly over the choice , however; in the Senate, GOP leaders were already promising challenging hearings for Lew.

So who is the man the president has tapped for one of the most important economic jobs in the country?

Lew is known inside Washington circles first and foremost as a budget wonk and has recently gained a reputation as a shrewd negotiator in the White House. But he also has a revolving door past , a history that includes deep ties to the federal government and Wall Street, an industry he’ll work closely with if he gets the job.

Lew has twice served as head of the Office of Management and Budget, most recently from 2010-2011, and had a leading role at the State Department in between. His first major D.C. posts, however, were on Capitol Hill. Lew worked for two lawmakers in the 1970s and ’80s, including as a senior policy advisor for former Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill.

Lew’s Wall Street history was comparatively brief but notable: He was a managing director of Citigroup Alternative Investments. Lew rode out the 2008 financial crisis from that perch. His sizable compensation package has left some, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), with questions about why Lew was paid so handsomely at a time of such industry upheaval.

Prior to his Wall Street years, Lew also practiced law as a partner at the firm Van Ness Feldman and Curtis , where he gained an intimate familiarity with energy-based issues — as well as many prominent energy firms.

— Evan MacKinder





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NEW HEAD OF NRCC: Liesl Hickey has been named the new executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s campaign and fundraising arm to help get House Republicans elected. She’s been tasked with turning the committee around after a dismal election cycle: the committee spent almost $70 million and won relatively few of the battles it charged into.

In total, the committee spent $65 million in independent expenditures in 59 races , mostly attacking Democrats. Just $5 million was used to support nine Republicans. Only two of those nine GOP candidates won, and the committee’s $242,000 spent in their favor likely wasn’t the deciding factor.

On the other side of the ledger, the committee spent almost $60 million opposing Democrats in 50 races, and 33 ended up winning anyway.

The overall spending numbers were higher than those of 2010, when the committee spent just under $50 million . That year, however, it had far better results: It intervened in 138 races, in which 52 of the candidates it opposed lost and 52 of those it supported were elected.



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