By Agence France-Presse President George W. Bush said April 22 he would reappoint Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan after his term expires next year. "I think Alan Greenspan should get another term," Bush told a group of business journalists in response to a question about the central bank chief. Bush made the comments on the same day that Greenspan, 77, faced surgery for an enlarged prostate. The Federal Reserve said in a statement that Greenspan would to be back in his office later this week. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declined to provide any specific guidance about whether Bush would indeed reappoint Greenspan. Speaking to reporters, Fleischer said he does not know if Greenspan would accept another term as head of the central bank. "(Bush) thinks he's done a very able job stewarding the economy," Fleischer said. A spokesman for the Federal Reserve declined to comment on whether Greenspan would accept another term. Greenspan's fourth four-year term as chairman expires June 20, 2004. His 14-year appointment as a member of the Federal Reserve Board, however, runs through February 2006. Some analysts suggested the White House might be unhappy with Greenspan for failing to endorse Bush's most recent tax-cut program, which is still being considered in Congress. Greenspan said a big stimulus would be premature because the direction of the economy would not be known until the Iraq war and its aftermath are resolved. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2003
