President-elect Barack Obama has named his economic team warning the US is facing an economic crisis of historic proportions.

Although predicting the US could lose millions of jobs next year, Obama expressed confidence that the nation would weather the crisis.

At a news conference 57 days before his inauguration, Obama tapped New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner (Gite-ner) as Treasury Secretary to deal with the economic crisis.

Barack Obama, President-elect, said, "Tim will waste no time in getting up to speed. He will start his first day on the job with a unique insight into the failures of today's markets and a clear vision of the steps we must take to revive them. The reality is that the economic crisis we face is no longer just an American crisis, it's a global crisis, and we will need to reach out to countries around the world to craft a global response."

President-elect Barack Obama has named his economic team warning the US is facing an economic crisis of historic proportions.

Obama also tapped former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers to be director of his National Economic Council.

The president-elect also named Christina Romer as chair of his Council of Economic Advisers. And Melody Barnes as Director of his White House Domestic Policy Council.

Obama urged Congress to begin work with unusual speed to pass an economic stimulus package -- as soon as possible -- after being sworn in in January.

He wants action that will stabilize the financial system and get credit flowing, as well as create jobs.