General Motors CEO Henderson resigns

The president and CEO of General Motors resigned Tuesday, leaving the government-run company under the control of its third chief executive this year.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson, who was installed at the behest of the Obama administration earlier this year, submitted his resignation to the automaker's Board of Directors Tuesday, which was accepted.

"The General Motors Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Fritz Henderson as director, president, and CEO of GM," said GM Chairman Ed Whitacre at a hastily arranged press conference, in which Whitacre announced he would take over the company as interim president and CEO.

A White House spokeswoman said Tuesday that GM alone was responsible for the decision.

"This decision was made by the Board of Directors alone," the spokeswoman said. "The administration was not involved in the decision."

Whitacre has no intention of serving as full-time head of the company and the automaker is seeking one, a spokesman for GM said at the press conference, at which Whitacre took no questions.

"GM's daily business operations will continue as normal," Whitacre said. "I look forward to working with the entire General Motors family as we work to move forward with the next chapter in this company's history."

The company's spokesman downplayed the notion of internal clashes, and characterized Henderson's resignation as a mutual decision between Henderson and the company's board.

"After discussion with the board and given where the company currently is, it was a decision by Fritz and the board that this was the best decision," the spokesman said.

The Obama administration forced Richard Waggoner out as CEO of GM earlier this year as a condition of its billions of dollars in support for the company. Henderson took over and navigated the company through bankruptcy and restructuring, which saw the federal government take a majority stake in the company.