P. M. BRIEFING : Plan to Fire Greenspan Denied
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WASHINGTON — The White House today denied a report by the Los Angeles Times saying that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will not be reappointed to his post at the Fed when his term runs out next year.
“There’s no foundation for the story. . . . It’s out of left field,” Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Michael Boskin told reporters at the White House.
He said there has been no discussion about Greenspan’s status. “I have not begun to think about that issue (Greenspan’s status) nor has the President,” Boskin said.
The Times quoted “a longtime Bush adviser” as saying Bush was “mad as hell” about Fed policy, particularly regarding interest rates (Story, A1). But the White House tried to downplay any conflicts.
“The issue of reappointment hasn’t even come up. It’s a year and a half away,” White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said. “We don’t have any comment on interest rates.”
Boskin also refused to be drawn into the interest rate issue. “I don’t make those kinds of absolutist statements,” he said when asked if rates are too high.
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