Pay Czar Feinberg, Not Obama, Behind Decision to Slash Executive Pay

White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg did not seek President Obama's approval to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives.

(Fox News) - White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg was the driving force behind the move to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives, and did not even seek the president's approval before making his decision.

The Treasury Department is expected to formally announce in the next few days a plan to slash annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives at the seven companies that received the most from the Wall Street bailout. Total compensation for the top executives at the firms would decline, on average, by about 50 percent.

The sweeping decision, though, came from Feinberg and not from President Obama.