Roger Altman Leading Candidate to Replace Summers

Roger Altman, former deputy treasury secretary and founder of Evercore Partners Inc., is a top candidate to replace Lawrence Summers as director of President Obama's National Economic Council, Bloomberg News said.

Altman, 64, met with Obama Tuesday to discuss the job, which involves coordinating policy-making and economic advice for the president, Bloomberg News reported without naming its sources.

Altman worked at the Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton. His appointment could be a pro-business gesture from the Obama administration, which ahs been sharply criticized by some business groups.

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Summers said in September that he would quit the post at the end of the year and return to Harvard University.

"The president is considering a number of qualified candidates, but he has only begun the process and no decisions have been made," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

In July, Altman wrote a column in The New York Times saying that the "poisonous dynamic" between the administration and the business community must be repaired.

"Both sides should make adjustments, but the business community -- of which I am a proud member -- especially needs to make efforts to mend this relationship," Altman wrote. "Yes, the administration has made some mistakes. But, on balance, its actions have supported business."