President Biden Announces Key Members of his Economic Team

Today, President Biden announced key members of his economic team, including Lael Brainard to serve as Director of the National Economic Council and his intent to nominate Jared Bernstein as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Additionally, the President named Bharat Ramamurti, who currently serves as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, to also serve as an Advisor for Strategic Economic Communications; he named Heather Boushey, who currently serves as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, to also serve as Chief Economist to the Invest in America Cabinet; and he named Joelle Gamble, who currently serves as Chief Economist at the Department of Labor to be Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.

Statement from President Biden:

“Cecilia Rouse and Brian Deese are trusted advisors that I have relied on to help craft my economic agenda, and our country owes them a debt of gratitude for their service. As they transition out of the White House, I am pleased to announce new leaders who will continue to deliver on my economic vision and help finish the job.

Lael, one of the country’s leading macroeconomists, brings an extraordinary depth of domestic and international economic expertise, having previously served at CEA, NEC, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. She is a trusted veteran across our economic institutions, and understands how the economy affects everyday people.

Jared is a brilliant thinker and one of my closest and longest-serving economic advisers. He is an expert on worker empowerment and a worker-centric economic policy, which has long been the heart of my economic vision. A former social worker, Jared was in the foxhole with me while I was Vice President, and he understands that a job is about far more than a paycheck, it’s about the dignity of work.  

Along with Bharat, Heather, Joelle and other key members of my White House economic team, Lael and Jared will help bring a seriousness of purpose to the task of building a strong, inclusive, and more resilient economy for the future. Over the past two years, my economic strategy has delivered historic results for the American people. This team will be committed to implementing that strategy, while managing the transition of our historic economic recovery to steady and stable growth. They will work tirelessly to ensure every American enjoys a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead, and that our businesses can thrive and outcompete the rest of the world. Let’s finish the job.”

Brainard will be the second female director of the NEC.

Lael Brainard, Director of the National Economic Council
Lael Brainard currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve. Brainard took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in June 2014 to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2026. Prior to her appointment to the Board, Dr. Brainard served as undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury from 2010 to 2013 and counselor to the secretary of the Treasury in 2009. From 2001 to 2008, she was vice president and the founding director of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Brainard also previously served as deputy national economic adviser for President Clinton. From 1990 to 1996, she was assistant and associate professor of applied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Dr. Brainard received a BA with university honors from Wesleyan University in 1983. She received an MS and a Ph.D. in economics in 1989 from Harvard University, where she was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She is also the recipient of a White House Fellowship.

Jared Bernstein, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
Jared Bernstein currently serves as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Previously, Bernstein served as chief economist to then-Vice President Biden in the Obama-Biden Administration before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where he served as a senior fellow from 2011 to 2021. A former social worker, Bernstein has a long and distinguished track record devising economic policies that expand opportunity for working Americans. Bernstein has previously served as Executive Director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class and as an economic advisor to President Obama; prior to his service in the Obama-Biden Administration, he was a senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute, and served as Deputy Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor under President Clinton. Bernstein received his bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, his master of social work degree from Hunter College, and his Ph.D. in social welfare from Columbia University.

Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and Adviser for Strategic Economic Communications
Bharat Ramamurti currently serves as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. Before joining the Administration, he was appointed in 2020 by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as a commissioner on the Congressional Oversight Commission for the CARES Act. Ramamurti previously served as the Director of the Corporate Power program at the Roosevelt Institute, and as economic policy adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren in her Senate office and on her presidential campaign. Ramamurti is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Heather Boushey, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economist to the Invest in America Cabinet
Heather Boushey currently serves as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Previously, Boushey served as President & CEO and co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. An expert on the impact of structural inequities on economic growth, she is a leading voice on matters of economic policy. Boushey served as chief economist for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential transition team, and previously served as an economist for the Center for American Progress, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the Economic Policy Institute. Boushey received her bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and her Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research.

Joelle Gamble, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
Joelle Gamble currently serves as Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to this role, she was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy for the National Economic Council and served as an economic policy advisor role on the Presidential Transition. Before joining the Administration, she served as a principal at Omidyar Network. She was Senior Advisor to the President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute and National Director of the Roosevelt Institute’s network for emerging leaders in public policy. Gamble is a graduate of UCLA and Princeton University.

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