TARP overseer to take over Minneapolis Fed

The government overseer of the 2008 bailout, Neel Kashkari, who was previously best known as the Treasury Department official in charge of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is headed to the Federal Reserve.

{mosads}Spanning the administrations of both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Kashkari had the unenviable job of steering one of the most politically unpopular programs in years.

Previously a Goldman Sachs banker, Kashkari joined Treasury under then-Secretary Hank Paulson. Now, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, he will head one of the 12 regional Fed banks, and contribute to deliberations about the Fed’s monetary policy.

After leaving the Treasury in 2009, Kashkari took a job at the investment firm Pimco. He worked there until 2013, when he resigned, and in 2014 he launched a California gubernatorial campaign.

Kashkari, running as a Republican, ultimately lost that race to incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown (D).

Randall Hogan, chairman of the Minneapolis Fed’s board of directors, said the board was unanimous in selecting Kashkari, calling him “the right person to build on the Minneapolis core strengths.”

Kashkari will take over the Minneapolis Fed in January, after the current chief, Narayana Kocherlakota, steps down. Kocherlakota announced in December he would not seek reappointment to his position at the Fed.