Obama to Name Ron Bloom as Manufacturing Adviser

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will name Ron Bloom as his senior counselor for manufacturing during a presidential trip Monday to Cincinnati to mark Labor Day, the Wall stree Journal reported.

Bloom, who will keep his role as senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, will be helping the administration develop policies to assist the beleaguered U.S. manufacturing industry, the Journal reported.

According to the White House, he will be working with a variety of agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy and Labor, to implement Obama administration's strategies.

A former labor negotiator, Bloom has been a rising star within the administration. He spent the early part of the year negotiating labor deals central to the Obama administration's auto rescues, impressing administration officials.

Obama praised his skills, saying, "Ron has the knowledge and experience necessary to lead the way in creating the good-paying manufacturing jobs of the future."

Bloom took over in July as head of the auto industry restructuring team after Steven Rattner, chief architect of the bailouts to General Motors Co. and Chrysler LLC, left to return to New York.

The announcement follows a weekend when another senior adviser, Van Jones, resigned amid controversy. The administration has been coming under intensifying criticism for its reliance on advisers with major roles and significant authority, but do not need to go through the Senate confirmation process.

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