Regardless of whether White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew has a smooth transition to Secretary of the Treasury, or Republicans stonewall the nomination, his predecessor has already set the date for his last day on the job.

Geithner set the stage for his departure on Jan. 25 with comments made at the White House, during which he praised President Barack Obama and Lew.

“When you stepped into this building as President, you were confronted with a world in crisis, the worst economic crisis in generations,” he said of Obama.“You made the necessary, the hard, and the politically perilous choices that saved the American people and American industry from a failing financial system.  Your successful response to the crisis did not solve all of our economic challenges. It could not have done so.  But the actions you took, along with those of a forceful and creative Federal Reserve, have made the country stronger and put us in a much better position to face the many challenges still ahead of us. “

Geithner called Lew “a man of exceptional judgment” who is calm under pressure, and has an “extraordinary record of accomplishment and experience” from decades at the center of U.S. economic policy. He also had kind words for the staff he worked with at the Treasury Department, calling them “talented and honorable public servants.”

“I hope that Americans will look at the challenges we face today and decide, as many of you in this room have, that in spite of the divisive state of our political system, serving your country is compelling and rewarding work,” he said.

Geithner, the nation's 75th Treasury Secretary, took the job amid the prolonged period of financial turmoil referred to as the “Great Recession.” The U.S. economy was contracting at an annual rate approaching 9 percent, the housing boom turned to a bust, and stocks were shedding value by the day. Throughout his tenure, He collected both accolades and slams, the former from those breathing a sigh of relief as the economy improved, the latter camp saying that he and the President hindered that recovery trough their policies and reliance on bailouts. In particular, Geithner's role in the rescue of Bear Stearns (he also facilitated its sale to JP Morgan Chase)  and bailout for  insurance giant AIG, drew fire, as did the decision to let Lehman Brothers collapse.  

Highlights of Geithner's career include serving as Under Secretary of the Treasury, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relation, a director at the International Monetary Fund, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee.

As a regulator, Geithner was an early advocate of stress testing for banks, which  was later a key component of the reform-focused Dodd-Frank Act. As a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, established by the Dodd-Frank Act, he recently took charge of stalled efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission to reform the money market fund industry.