Day 11
Jan. 30, 2009
"We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer. They don't get it!"
—Claire McCaskill, Missouri Senator, introducing a bill in the Senate to cap compensation for employees of companies receiving bailout money
In a sign of the populist rage that will soon boil over, Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill responds to the reports of Wall Street bonuses by introducing a bill stating that no employee working for companies receiving federal money is allowed to make more than the President of the United States, which is currently $400,000.
Back at the White House, the Administration works to turn the focus to the middle class, with Obama appointing Vice President Joe Biden as head of a new middle-class task force aimed at examining ways to help the average family push through the economic crisis.
Meanwhile, after six rounds of balloting, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele is crowned the first African-American head of the Republican National Committee, beating out the more conservative South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson. He vows to turn the party around after a poor showing in the 2008 elections.