Beginning of Biden's Economic Team - Obama #2

 

POLITICS Economic Team, Assemble! Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Yesterday, President-elect Joe Biden announced the top captains of his economic team. Let's hop right in.  The Treasury oversees money production, raises revenue (i.e., taxes), and ensures the economic gears of the country are greased and turning.  Confirming recent reports, former Fed Chair Janet Yellen was nominated to become the first woman to head the Treasury. Here's a refresher on what her nomination means. And consider following her on Twitter (she's new to the platform and could use some more followers). Yellen's proposed No. 2 is Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation and former economic adviser to 44. He'd be the first Black man to serve as deputy secretary.  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for drafting the annual budget proposal and approving new regulations. Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden was nominated as director. She'd be the first woman of color to head the OMB, but of all Biden's early nominees, she may face the toughest confirmation battle.  Council of Economic Advisors: Think of it as the president's personal econ think tank, responsible for crafting policy and economic forecasting.  Cecilia Rouse, dean of Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, was nominated as chair. She served on the council under Obama and would become the CEA's first Black chair. Big picture: Other economy-related roles Biden needs to fill include secretaries of Commerce, Labor, and Transportation and the U.S. trade representative. All nominees will require Senate confirmation (though control of the Senate is in flux until Georgia's runoff races in January).  Reading between the noms Biden's roster features prominent labor economists and inequality experts, which could signal an early focus on spreading the wealth, protecting workers, and ensuring an equitable pandemic recovery, the NYT reports.   To get that done, this squad is expected to embrace more deficit spending. Looking ahead…with a slowing recovery, worsening pandemic, and one month until ~12 million U.S. workers lose federal unemployment benefits, Biden's team will face the economic equivalent of Alabama in Week 1.