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White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted on Wednesday that Biden himself had played a similar role as a “resource person” on the Obama administration’s implementation of the 2009 stimulus.
Sperling declined to comment. The White House also declined to comment.
Sperling, who currently lives in Los Angeles with his family, would bring a wealth of experience on economic policy issues to the post of stimulus czar. He was head of the National Economic Council under Clinton and Obama as well as a senior advisor to the Treasury Department under Obama.
Sperling has found himself at odds with progressives in recent years over his role in negotiating various deficit reduction efforts. But he has gone further to the left in recent years, arguing for a massive increase in spending to fight Covid and help an economy that remains around 11 million jobs below the number that would have existed without the pandemic. When Obama’s former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers wrote an op-ed asking if the latest stimulus was too big, Sperling was quick to respond that he thought it wasn’t.
An element of Washington politics that has spanned decades – famous for going to meetings with a phone hidden behind his ear and stacks of papers in his hands – Sperling has a deep connection across Capitol Hill. He was seeking a prominent role in the Biden administration. And the White House had told lawmakers it wanted him in the top spot of the OMB.
But Sperling’s idea as Tanden’s back-up solution received a major rejection from the Hill, according to several sources involved or familiar with the discussions.
Instead, Shalanda Young is increasingly likely to be Biden’s last choice to lead the OMB, according to four sources familiar with the White House talks. Young, who is currently Biden’s candidate for deputy budget director, is a longtime congressional budget aide and has received support from the Congressional Black Caucus, the top three Democratic House leaders, members of the Hispanic caucus. and some Republicans.
Some members of the House have told the administration that it would not be good to bypass Young, a black woman, and appoint a white man to replace Tanden, who would have been the first American Indian to hold the post.
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee both advanced Young’s appointment as OMB deputy director on Wednesday, sending his candidacy to the prosecution for a final confirmation vote. Psaki previously said Young would likely be hired to take on the interim manager position once confirmed and Biden settled on a new candidate.
After Tanden’s name was taken off the review, members of the Congressional Black Caucus launched an aggressive lobbying campaign to convince Biden to put Young in first place. Although he said he was unaware of the administration’s plans, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) Said Biden “certainly can’t be wrong” in naming Young because that she “is brilliant.”
A House Democrat who asked to speak on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations said if the White House did not choose Young, it would be “an affront” to the Congressional Black Caucus and House leaders.
Several Democratic members who spoke to POLITICO last week said they saw Young as an inevitable choice and said his appointment to the post would represent a commitment from the White House to members of the Black Caucus, who made it clear to several times that black voters have been instrumental. to his victory in November.
“When I think about the opportunities to make sure we’re talking about diversity, here’s another one of those chances – Shalanda would be the first woman of color to hold this position,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.). in an interview on Wednesday. “So it’s a chance to break another ceiling again. And I think when you have a chance to break the caps, you do.
Chris Cadelago and Natasha Korecki contributed to this report.
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