President Barack Obama

At a Chicago news conference announcing his economic team, President-elect Barack Obama urged rapid passage of an economic stimulus bill by Congress, which would provide assistance to the three domestic automakers, among other financial measures.

With 57 days before he is inaugurated as the nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama warned about the ailing economy, saying that, “the economy is likely to get worse before it gets better.” He added that, “most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year.” Obama also expressed surprise at the big three auto makers, saying that he was surprised they did not have at present any well-conceived plans for recovery prior to asking Congress to approve their urgent request for $25 billion in emergency loans.