Rep. Mack Calls for Geithner to Resign or Be Fired Over AIG Bonuses

Florida Republican Rep. Connie Mack called for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to lose his job Wednesday, becoming the first Capitol Hill lawmaker to call for his ouster over AIG's using tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for executive bonuses.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., later joined in the call Wednesday.

Mack told FOX News that Geithner should resign or the administration should fire him.

"The American people certainly don't see any competence in him. And I think he's got a lot of questions to answer," he said.

Mack said in a written statement released earlier in the day that President Obama should nominate a new treasury secretary with "the experience and leadership skills America deserves."

"Quite simply, the Timothy Geithner experience has been a disaster. The Treasury Department is in disarray. Taxpayer dollars are being wasted," he said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that Obama has "complete confidence" in Geithner, as lawmakers began to question why the Treasury Department didn't do more to prevent American International Group from paying $165 million in bonuses even after receiving more than $170 billion in federal bailout money.

Though the administration claims Geithner found out about the bonuses only last Tuesday, Mack suggested he was more involved.

"Before Timothy Geithner became secretary of the Treasury, he was working hand-in-hand with AIG and other financial institutions to provide them hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money as one of the key architects of the financial sector bailout," he said. "I've had serious concerns about Secretary Geithner from the moment he was nominated. In the months since, he has shown us time and again why he was the wrong choice for this critical post."

Geithner faced criticism during his nomination over personal tax problems but ultimately won confirmation.

Issa also said in a statement Wednesday that Geithner missed an opportunity to negotiate concessions from AIG.

"Secretary Geithner either didn't know about the bonuses, and was grossly negligent, or he did know and failed to bring this to the president's attention," Issa said. "Either way, the end result has been a significant waste of taxpayer dollars and he should take immediate responsibility and resign."

AUDIO: Rep. Daryl Issa Calls on Geithner to Resign