Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is making few new friends in Congress these days, as a growing litany of bipartisan critics are questioning whether he should keep his job.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican House member on the Joint Economic Committee, on Thursday was the latest lawmaker to call for Mr. Geithner to resign, saying the nation has lost confidence in the Obama administration's ability to handle the economy.
"For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?" Mr. Brady asked Mr. Geithner during a hearing of the panel.
Mr. Geithner, who was appointed by Mr. Obama and took office in January, shrugged off the request, saying that it was "a great privilege for me to serve this president."
"I agree with almost nothing in what you said," the secretary added. "And I think almost nothing of what you said represents a fair and accurate perception of where this economy is today."
Another Texas Republican, Rep. Michael C. Burgess, went a step further than Mr. Brady in his criticism of the secretary.
"I don't think that you should be fired; I thought you should have never been hired," Mr. Burgess told Mr. Geithner.
Mr. Burgess said questionable actions in Mr. Geithner's past, such his admission shortly after his nomination that he owed back taxes, made him unsuitable for the job from the beginning.
