Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday pledged to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but he indicated spending would continue in 2010 in a few areas.

“We will continue terminating and winding down many of the government programs put in place last fall,— Geithner said in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

New commitments will be limited to efforts to “mitigate foreclosure for responsible American homeowners,— provide for small-business lending and assist the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which he said “is improving securitization markets that facilitate consumer and small-business loans, as well as commercial mortgage loans.—

Republicans objected to the continuation of the program. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued a statement calling on the administration to shut down the program by year’s end.