Obama didn't ask Congress about ousting Wagoner

Per TheHill.com

By Ian Swanson
Posted: 03/30/09 01:53 PM [ET]

President Obama didn’t want any advice from Congress on the decision to ask GM CEO Rick Wagoner to resign, according to Carl Levin (D), Michigan’s senior senator.“He didn’t ask us about it, he informed us,” Levin told reporters in a conference call Monday afternoon. “The president said he’d already decided.”

Levin said he and three other lawmakers were informed of the decision in a phone call Obama made from the Oval Office. Obama told the members of Congress that Wagoner needed to resign so that the administration could show the public it was making an effort at a fresh start with helping the auto industry, according to Levin.

Levin repeatedly described the decision as “sad,” and noted that Wagoner had given a lifetime of service to GM. He praised Wagner’s willingness to voluntarily “retire” from his post, and did not say whether he disagreed with Obama’s decision. Obama formally announced Monday morning that he was rejecting restructuring plans submitted by GM and Chrysler because they would not make the two automakers viable. He also made it clear that Wagoner was asked to resign as a condition for GM getting more aid.

Levin did not directly criticize Obama’s decision, but did say there is a “double standard” in the treatment of U.S. automakers and the financial industry, which has received tens of billions more in aid from taxpayers. “It’s something we’ve got to fight and overcome,” he said of Michigan lawmakers.

Obama suggested both companies might need to into a controlled bankruptcy to restructure, a suggestion Levin said could hurt Chrysler and GM by lowering consumer confidence.

Source: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senator-no-consultation-on-asking-wagoner-to-leave-2009-03-30.html