President Joe Biden is reshuffling his White House economic team, installing former Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard as the new director of his National Economic Council and nominating Jared Bernstein to serve as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, as he tries to change voters' perceptions about the economy ahead of 2024.
The personnel moves come as the president is expected to announce his 2024 reelection campaign while facing the tall task of convincing voters his economic agenda is working, even as inflation remains historically elevated.
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"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," Biden wrote in announcing the reshuffling on Tuesday. "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."
Bernstein currently serves as a member economist on the Council of Economic Advisers under departing Chairwoman Cecilia Rouse but will require Senate confirmation before taking on his new role. Brainard, on the other hand, will take over for former NEC Director Brian Deese immediately, becoming the second-ever female council director in the process.
Additionally, NEC Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti will take on new responsibilities as adviser to the president for Strategic Economic Communications.
The pair will likely play a heavy part in Biden's messaging on the economy. Deese, along with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, was arguably the most frequent guest at White House press briefings and frequently spoke on television in response to positive and negative economic points.
Together, the White House hopes the new team, with its decades of combined Washington experience, will help sway some Republicans into supporting the remainder of Biden's economic agenda, including making permanent the expanded child tax credit and federally mandating paid parental leave.
"The White House sees moderate Republicans as gettable on certain issues," one White House official told Politico of the hirings. "So they want adults with some gravitas in the room."
"In his State of the Union, the president called on Democrats and Republicans to help him 'finish the job,'" one senior Democratic official told the Washington Examiner. "This new team of advisers shows he's serious about doing whatever it takes to continue fighting for American families."
Biden himself believes his team "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," the president said in a statement. "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.”
Still, top finance Republicans offered strong criticism of Biden's new economics advisers. In particular, Brainard is viewed in some GOP circles as a political pick, rather than a policy expert, and suggested she could potentially help the White House influence Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's plans to tackle inflation.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, claimed that "throughout her career, Dr. Brainard has made her political agenda clear and has attempted to expand executive regulatory authority and control to accomplish it."
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"I have serious concerns with the appointment of Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to Director of the National Economic Council. It is no secret that Vice Chair Brainard wields significant influence in the Federal Reserve over monetary and supervisory policy," Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, added. "I do not expect this to change despite transitioning to the NEC. I have long been a proponent of Federal Reserve independence and remain concerned that this appointment blurs that line."