By: Victoria McGrane

Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) says he’s open to an unusual process of confirming some of Barack Obama’s key economic appointees before Inauguration Day, should the president-elect decide to go that route.

Dodd said that he has suggested such a move to Obama’s transition team, but stressed that it’s “a call for the president-elect to make.”

It’s important for the domestic and international economies that “there’s going to be a seamless transition here on these issues,” Dodd said at a Capitol Hill press conference. “To the extent we can send that message and continue that work during this period, I think would be valuable.”

Dodd mentioned the unprecedented idea several weeks ago, where President Bush would actually nominate the president-elect’s Treasury secretary during this fall’s lame-duck congressional session.

On Thursday, Dodd called the unusual process “interesting,” saying it would allow transition to occur quickly as well as “send an important signal that they’re working together on these issues.” And he urged the Obama team to move quickly in announcing its economic lineup, including Treasury secretary and the chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission.

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