Treasury Head John Snow Is Reportedly Ready to Leave

Treasury Secretary John W. Snow has signaled to the White House that he is ready to resign once President Bush has picked a successor, administration officials and people close to Snow said Thursday.

They said Snow had made clear he eventually intended to return to the private sector. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they said Snow was not ready to discuss his plans publicly.

It’s unclear when Snow is expected to offer his resignation. The president said he had heard nothing about it.

“He has not talked to me about resignation,” Bush said at a news conference Thursday night. “I think he’s doing a fine job. After all, our economy is strong,” Bush said, fielding reporters’ questions in an appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Snow is to attend a meeting of finance ministers from the world’s richest countries June 9 and 10 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Treasury Department spokesman Tony Fratto declined to comment on Snow’s future. “I don’t speculate on personnel matters,” he said.

Snow, 66, took over Treasury in February 2003. He succeeded Paul H. O’Neill, whose bluntness came to irk the White House and some congressional Republicans and Democrats. Unlike O’Neill, Snow hasn’t veered from the Bush economic line. Still, the White House is said to want a more effective salesman for the president’s economic policies.