President-elect Barack Obama is planning to announce his economic team on Monday, naming Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers for the head of the National Economic Council.
If confirmed by the Senate, Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, would have the top Cabinet job for leading Obama's response to the global economic meltdown. Word of his selection leaked Friday and sent the Dow Jones Industrials soaring 500 points.
Geithner served in the Clinton administration.
Simmers, a former treasury secretary under Bill Clinton with advise Obama in the White House.
Obama continues to put together his White House team with a mix of familiar Chicago associates and outsiders from Washington.
Also on Saturday, Obama named longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary and Ellen Moran director of communications at the White House.
Moran is the executive director of the Washington group EMILY's List -- which backs female candidates who support abortion rights. Her deputy will be Dan Pfeiffer, who is communication director for Obama's presidential transition team and helped manage the Obama campaign press team.
The moves continue a trend in the building of the Obama administration, as the team grows to include both his closest advisors and outsiders, ranging from former rivals to former Clinton administration officials.
The structure suggest that Obama is confident enough to give posts to people whose loyalty is not guaranteed, a strategy that many presidents -- such as President George Bush -- have avoided. For example, Obama has tapped a top Clinton advisor in Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff.
Additionally, it looks like former rival Hillary Clinton will be nominated for secretary of state and other Clinton administration officials look to be in line for jobs.
But many of Obama's top advisors will be those who have surrounded him during his campaign and old friends, who are seen as having no ambitions beyond his success.
Some Obama supporters have questioned Obama's "team of rivals," noting that he campaigned against the "politics of the past" and Washington "drama" -- jabs at the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Obama plans to create jobs
Obama said he will create 2.5 million jobs within two years of taking office, as he provided details of his plans for the American economy during the weekly Democratic radio address Saturday.
Obama said he plans to modernize schools and other infrastructure, and invest in alternative energy technologies to create economic opportunities that will benefit America in the long run.
"There aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis," he said in his address. "These are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long."
Obama said it is his intention to have his economic plan approved as quickly as possible once he is inaugurated as president.
His plan, he said, will "lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy" and will require the help of both Republicans and Democrats to make it work.
Obama's plan comes at a time when the American economy has been weakened by a collapsing housing sector, problems on Wall Street and a major credit crisis.
On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people seeking unemployment benefits had reached 542,000 -- the highest level in more than 16 years.
With many Americans "lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheque will cover next month's bills," Obama said it was necessary to move swiftly to bring the economy back to full health.
But he cautioned that the economy cannot be repaired overnight.
"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," Obama said.
Many experts have suggested that America's economic problems will continue through the bulk of next year.
In his address, Obama also praised his fellow Americans for the way they have dealt with the problems in the economy so far.
"We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together," he said. "That is the chance our new beginning offers us, and that is the challenge we must raise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."
With files from The Associated Press
