Washington Wants to Know Who Replaces Hank

With the Treasury Secretary looking to get $700 billion to spend on the bailout, Washington is starting to focus on who might replace Henry Paulson when a new administration takes over in January, the Post reports. Neither candidate has given in to requests for names, but speculation has centered on Timothy Geithner for Barack Obama and John Thain for John McCain.

Geithner, the 47-year-old president of the New York Federal Reserve, has been knee-deep in the crisis with Paulson and Ben Bernanke, while Thain raised his stock by selling Merrill Lynch. Michael Bloomberg’s name has been floated for either candidate, but it’s unclear if he’d want the job. Warren Buffett, for one, thinks the choice for Paulson’s successor is clear: Paulson. “You couldn't have any better guy.” (More Henry Paulson stories.)