All have specific skills that Biden’s experienced hands need, according to six White House advisers and people close to the president who were granted anonymity to speak on personnel matters. It also has the confidence of the left at a time when the president may be forced to make tough trade-offs with House Republicans.
Biden, who has consistently received gloomy public reviews of his economic policies, has complained that the cable news he regularly watches doesn’t do enough to report the administration’s achievements. He is counting on his new aide to solve the problem.
“If you know Joe Biden at all, you pretty much know exactly what’s on his mind with all these picks,” said one Democrat close to the president. He’s great as a public communicator and can help a lot with international things.
Brainerd, who was sworn in as a director of the National Economic Council on Tuesday, is perhaps the most surprising of the three nominations.
She served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board second to Jerome Powell and is a long-time policy maker who has worked in every important economic powerhouse spanning three Democratic presidents.
Brainerd sees the NEC job as a strong post, according to people who know her, and her promise to serve as either Fed chairman or Treasury secretary if Biden or another Democrat wins in 2024. We can help you reach your ultimate goal.
The Fed’s Vice Chairman post is influential, but lacks the same range of powers, and the central bank is an independent institution, so it is largely excluded from interactions with the White House. NEC’s directors spend a lot of time talking directly to the president in the Oval Office.
Brainerd is the chip method and Inflation control law Due to huge environmental technology subsidies and changes in the tax system,
“Rael is stepping into a very different job than Brian took on,” said one of Biden’s advisers. “She will not stand on a hill negotiating a huge bill, nor will she take a leadership role on its implementation.
That role includes significant airtime, and Brainerd is widely seen as a commanding voice in both the U.S. and international economy.
A White House adviser said, “Lail will be on TV more than Bryan, partly because he’s from the Federal Reserve.”
On the law enforcement side, Zients’ close ally Natalie Quillian is the new White House deputy chief of staff, and is expected to take over more of Deese’s previous day-to-day oversight.
Mr. Brainerd is against new U.S. industrial subsidies, trade and espionage battles with China, and the escalating conflict with Europe over the continued and highly uncertain global economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It will likely help coordinate the administration’s response.
Domestically, she is expected to be the leader when it comes to executing a deal with Republicans to raise the nation’s debt ceiling later this year without accepting the drastic budget cuts that the Democrats will push back against. increase.
Along with Bernstein, Brainard is also pivotal in how Biden will exercise regulatory and executive powers to make moves the White House believes will help keep inflationary trends down. will play a role.
Biden’s allies hope the president will launch a re-election move against the backdrop of robust economic conditions marked by historically low unemployment and rising wages, giving them the political edge they once worried about. A weakness turns into a source of amazing power.
But inflation, and the Fed’s move to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in 40 years, still threatens to undermine its economic record, effectively nullifying Biden’s achievements in the eyes of many voters. .
“The economy has a tailwind, which is great,” said Robert Wolff, an outside economic adviser during the Obama era and a donor who maintains ties with the Biden White House. “But I have always thought, and still do, that inflation is the biggest concern.”
Bernstein is set to rise to the chairmanship of the Economic Advisory Board and is likely to play a much more visible role than his predecessor Cecilia Rouse in shaping Biden’s policies and message.
Not only is Bernstein a longtime friend and adviser to Biden, but he is also a seasoned television communicator. And as the White House inevitably seeks to cut budget pacts with Republicans while pushing its own long-term deficit-reduction ideas primarily for political consumption, he is a progressive A White House adviser called Bernstein the “economic brain” of Biden.
Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Progressive Economics and Policy Studies, said Brainard persuaded at least some progressives who were concerned about her position on trade deals and other issues, but Bernstein was on the left. said he would be an important communicator for “I think he’ll go to Jared a lot,” Baker said of Biden.
Among others on hand to help Biden is senior adviser Gene Sperling. He remains the credible Vice President of Biden, with a broader role in implementing policy.
NEC’s Vice President Bharat Ramamurti, a candidate for top office and a favorite of the left, was given the title of “Presidential Counselor for Strategic Economic Communications.”
He will have a big say in the implementation of legislation and a focus in favor of Biden’s new reelection on consumer-oriented issues such as “junk” charges from cable providers, airlines and hotels.
Bernstein and the rest of Biden’s new team must simultaneously deliver the kind of executive activism demanded by progressives like the Senators, while at least making the political case for deficit reduction. Elizabeth Warren (D-mass)
“The White House economic team must continue to use all means to bring President Biden’s vision to life,” Warren said in an interview. means to accomplish it using