Summers, who is leaving the administration at the end of the year, was referencing a relatively recent Supreme Court decision, in which the justices determined by a 5-4 vote that corporations and unions have the same legal rights as individual citizens when it comes to free speech.

FORBES: Larry Summers To Corporations: Behave

At the end of last year Mr Orszag was said to have clashed with Larry Summers, who heads the president's National Economic Council, over just when the fiscal consolidation should start.

ECONOMIST: Exit a clever but disappointed man

Tuesday, White House announced that Summers would return to Harvard University, where he formerly taught and served as president, at the end of the year.

FORBES: Summers To Leave White House