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Those close to the transition argue that much of the left’s criticism of Deese is unfair. They say he has long supported progressive economic policies and played a pivotal role in helping the US economy recover from the financial crisis and the great recession, making him a natural partner as Biden attempts to do so. roll back the economy from the Covid-19 epidemic.
They also cite support for Deese in the environmental community and note that her role at BlackRock is to drive investment in sustainable areas of the economy like clean energy.
“He has just proven that he is an effective champion of the economy’s transition to a cleaner economy,” said John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and adviser to President Barack Obama before founding the group. progressive Center for American Progress. . “There is no doubt in my mind that he will campaign aggressively on behalf of the environment.”
Economist Robert Greenstein, founder and chairman of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said he believed Deese would be a “great fit” for NEC. “I worked with him on a number of issues during the Obama administration and found him to be truly one of the most effective people in an effective White House. And I have always found him on the progressive side. . “
Deese did not respond to a request for comment. A Biden transition official declined to comment.
Deese was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and the NEC during the Obama administration. He is now Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.
His selection would be in line with Biden’s model of soliciting officials from the Obama White House for leadership positions in his own administration. Fresh out of Yale Law School, Deese, then 31, helped lead Obama’s auto industry rescue. He also worked on environmental issues and other areas important to Biden. Deese’s Ivy League background would also follow a trend with Biden’s top picks.
Biden could also balance the choice of the NEC by selecting a more diverse and progressive candidate for the head of the Council of Economic Advisers.
The CEA is less influential than the NEC and operates out of Eisenhower’s executive office building next to the White House, rather than inside the West Wing. But it serves as an internal economic forecasting and analysis unit for the administration and plays an important role in formulating political ideas. The president of the CEA is also often one of the main spokespersons of the White House on economic issues.
The leading candidate for the CEA job, according to people close to the transition, is Cecilia Rouse, an African-American economist who has worked at both the Obama Council of Economic Advisers and President Bill Clinton’s National Economic Council and is now the dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Lisa Cook, an African-American economist from the state of Michigan who also worked at CEA under Obama, is also one of the top candidates for the position at CEA. Cook was one of the main outside economic advisers to the Biden campaign. Other nominees include economists Heather Boushey and Jared Bernstein and Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress.
Boushey and Bernstein were both primary campaign advisers, and Bernstein served as then-Vice President Biden’s primary economic advisor under the Obama administration. Bernstein is almost certain to secure a very important economic role in Biden’s White House, although it is not known what job he will occupy.
Biden’s transition team is trying to get through announcements from Cabinet and senior officials quickly to avoid jockey stories and behind-the-scenes intrigue, a person familiar with the matter said. So further announcements, including for the economics team, are expected next week.
Theodoric Meyer and Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
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