The previous central banker will take over as head of the National Economic Council.
(Photo: AP)
Washington The fact that US President Joe Biden is replacing one top adviser after another is early preparation for the 2024 presidential election. Biden could soon announce his inauguration for re-election – and presidents usually reshuffle their staff in the run-up to a campaign.
The posts of economic strategists are central here: the previous Vice Chair of the US Federal Reserve, Lael Brainard, is now entrusting Biden with heading the National Economic Council. She succeeds Brian Deese.
Economist Jared Bernstein is set to head the Council of Economic Advisors. The two roles are crucial for shaping US economic policy – and once again Biden fills them with confidants from his days as Barack Obama’s vice president.
Brainard and Bernstein will coordinate the complex communications between the ministries and the White House and will also shape the economic agenda for the coming months: How can the US solve the labor shortage, how will the nation deal with persistently high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes?
Above all, Brainard will support the President in the negotiations on raising the debt ceiling. The US Republicans in the House of Representatives want to force spending cuts. If Congress does not agree on a new debt limit by the summer, there is a risk – once again – of a default with global consequences.
Past of top consultants
The 61-year-old Brainard has German roots, she was born in Hamburg as the daughter of a US diplomat and grew up in the old Federal Republic and in Poland before the fall of the Wall. Europeans remember her from the financial crisis of 2008, when she and then US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner campaigned for a more active fiscal policy. Brainard’s husband, Kurt Campbell, is Biden’s so-called “Asia Czar” on the National Security Council, also a very influential post.
The economist is to head the advisory body Council of Economic Advisors in the future.
(Photo: IMAGO/UPI Photo)
Jared Bernstein succeeds Cecilia Rouse, who is returning to her chair at elite Princeton. During the Obama presidency, Biden worked with Bernstein to implement economic recovery amid the financial crisis. In terms of economic policy, the 68-year-old is on the left, and his special topic is the difficulties of the middle class.
What distinguishes Bernstein is a broad perspective on the economy, from fiscal policy to low wages to the housing market – which is also due to his education: He is a trained social worker.
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