The Hill News

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced Wednesday his plans to introduce a vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Paul's announcement highlights growing consensus on the Republican side of the aisle that Geithner deserves some punishment for the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ by the firm Standard & Poor's on Friday.

Passage of the motion, which likely will not be introduced until September when Congress is back in session, would indicate that Congress has no confidence in Geithner's ability to "institute policies that will reverse the downgrade in America’s debt," according to a press release from Paul's office.

“The stock market gave a vote of no confidence to Timothy Geithner yesterday and for the past 11 days. Geithner has shown no acumen in predicting, diagnosing, or treating America’s economic woes. The time has come for him to resign,” Paul said in a statement released Wednesday. 

W! hite House press secretary Jay Carney dismissed the idea Wednesday shortly before Obama was set to meet with Geithner at the White House.

Carney said that the president has "great confidence in Secretary Geithner and his substantial capabilities."

Paul's release noted that Geithner has played "a direct role" in economic failure by presiding over bank and auto bailouts and "failed trillion-dollar stimulus plans."

Paul also indicated that Geithner was weighing down the Obama administration. "I think, really [Obama's] only chance to turn his presidency around is to get somebody to replace Timothy Geithner," he said Tuesday night on FOX News Channel’s "Hannity."

"It really says that everything they are doing is not working," Paul said of the stock market plunge. "Everything has gotten worse. Unemployment has gotten worse. Gas prices have doubled. The economy is growing, if at all, at a very anemic pace. We are not going to get out of this until we get a business-friendly administration."

Carney said a motion like Paul's "doesn't really amount to much because obviously they'! d like a different president to be in office."

"So the idea that they want members of his team to go shouldn't be all that shocking," Carney said.

Other Republican calls for Geithner's removal or resignation have been voiced by House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), head of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus, Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), and Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Connie Mack (Fla.), Allen West (Fla.), Pete Sessions (Texas) and Phil Gingrey (Ga.).

Sam Youngman contributed to this report.