The Obama administration is losing one of two top advisers it has charged with restructuring the U.S. auto industry.

The Treasury Department on Monday announced that Steven Rattner, a former journalist turned investment banker whose private firm became the subject of a New York influence- peddling investigation, is leaving. Treasury said he plans to return to "private life and his family."

The departure comes as auto giants General Motors (GMGMQ) and Chrysler (FIATY) have emerged from speedy bankruptcy court-led reorganizations and as the U.S. government's role in the day-to-day operations of the auto industry is waning.

Fellow Obama auto adviser Ron Bloom, a man with strong ties to unionized steelworkers, is set to take over, leading a task force the administration has charged with revamping GM and Chrysler.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in a statement issued Monday, said much work remains on GM's and Chrysler's paths, but he believes American taxpayers now have a better chance of recouping government aid provided to the companies.

"With the emergence of both General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy, we enter a new phase of the government's unprecedented and temporary involvement in the automotive industry," he said.

-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com