Personnel Notes

The House Ways and Means Committee has postponed an organizational meeting scheduled for Wednesday, in the aftermath of the recent shooting spree in Arizona that left six people dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others wounded. 

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), said in a statement the postponement “will allow Congress to conduct the necessary work with respect to the tragic events in Arizona and provide the opportunity for each of us to take time to reflect and pray for the victims of this senseless act.”

The appointment of Gene Sperling is another step by the White House to improve Obama's relationship with business.

The makeover of the Obama administration continues, as top economic adviser and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is planning to leave the White House, according to a report.

Reuters reported Wednesday that Volcker would be leaving his position as head of the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, but would likely continue to advise the president informally on economic matters.

President Obama's reported consideration of William Daley to come on board as White House Chief of Staff is being hailed as a positive development for investors and markets as the president moves to the center on business issues.

"In our view, Mr. Daley is the epitome of a business-friendly Democrat," said Brain Gardner, senior vice president of Washington research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "We think this move would be another sign of the President's move to the center and would be welcomed by investors."

News that Daley, a former bank executive and Commerce Secretary under President Clinton, was seriously being considered to replace the departed Rahm Emanuel emerged Monday night. The administration has not confirmed the reports yet, but if it holds true, it would be good news for Wall Street, Gardner said.

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who spent his final years in George W. Bush's administration trying to stave off the housing crisis gripping the nation, has lost over $1 million selling his own Washington, D.C., home.

Paulson sold his three-bedroom home in the nation's capital for roughly $1 million less than he paid for it, and nearly a third less than his original asking price, according to Reuters.

Elizabeth Warren proved her fiscally prudent bona fides in a recent profile in Vogue magazine, in which she makes a cup of tea with a used tea bag stored in her desk.

The profile of the Harvard law professor, who is charged with overseeing the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was published in the most recent edition of the magazine. The article opens with the anecdote about Warren and the tea bag.

"If Elizabeth Warren offers you a cup of tea, don’t accept," writes Rebecca Johnson.

After the author's comments on the extreme recycling, Warren acknowledges she can't bring herself to throw away a still functional tea bag.

“I know,” said Warren. “But I just can’t stand the waste of throwing out a tea bag after one use. It’s like a knife in the gut for me.”

The CFPB does not officially come into being until July, one year after the Dodd-Frank Act authorized its creation. However, an implementation team is establishing the office and making hires to staff it, and Treasury officials said the office is on schedule for its July debut.

Warren has said she wants the CFPB to fundamentally remake the way consumers obtain credit from banks and other non-bank financial institutions. She has said a key part of that effort will be dramatically simplifying the wording of consumer financial agreements and making it so consumers can readily and immediately compare financial products with all relevant fees disclosed clearly up front.

The inaction on the nomination comes as lawmakers are expected to consider reforming Fannie and Freddie next year.

The National Association of Manufacturers is promoting Jay Timmons to be its president and chief executive officer next year, following the departure of current head John Engler.

NAM announced the replacement hours after Engler, the former Republican governor of Michigan, announced he was leaving the group to join the Business Roundtable as its president on Jan. 15. Timmons is currently NAM's executive vice president.

John Engler is leaving the National Association of Manufacturers to join the Business Roundtable, an influential association of corporate CEOs.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the whip-designate for the incoming GOP majority in the House, on Friday announced he is turning to a Hill veteran to run his leadership team in the next Congress. 

Tim Berry is leaving his position as vice president of public policy at Time Warner to serve as the chief of staff in the Office of the Majority Whip, McCarthy said in a statement Friday. 

Before joining Time Warner as a lobbyist in 2005, Berry served as the chief of staff to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). He has also served in the offices of former Reps. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) and Fred Heineman (R-N.C.).

See the rest of McCarthy's leadership team below the jump.