Head of Obama jobs council to join U.S. Chamber at Monday summit

July 8, 2011

The Hill

Michael O'Brien

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt will join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a major jobs summit scheduled for Monday.

Immelt, the chairman of President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, will be the guest of honor at the jobs-oriented discussion, which will include the release of the Chamber's quarterly "Small Business Outlook Survey," a study on job creation.

While it's not particularly unusual for the Chamber to host a major meeting, Immelt's role as a top economic adviser to the Obama administration provides an interesting subtext for the meeting.

The Chamber, one of the largest business lobbies in Washington, and the administration often butted heads during the first two years of Obama's presidency; Obama went so far as to provoke suspicions that the Chamber was illegally spending foreign money on elections.

The meeting on Monday will include other political figures: Barry Jackson, chief of staff to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), and David Krone, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), will both be in attendance.

Immelt and Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the Chamber, will hold a press gaggle following the meeting.

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