Economic adviser Lael Brainard, then Vice Chairman of the Fed, in Washington on January 12, 2022 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives/Drew Angerer)
US Central Bank (Fed) Vice Chair Lael Brainard was chosen by President Joe Biden on Tuesday to lead his team of economic advisers, the National Economic Council (NEC), the White House announced.
Lael Brainard, 61, has been vice-chairman of the Fed since May 2022. She will replace Brian Deese, 44, whose resignation was expected mid-term of President Biden.
“Lael, one of the country’s leading macroeconomists, brings an extraordinary depth of national and international economic expertise,” said Joe Biden, quoted in the press release.
“She is a trusted figure in our economic institutions and understands how the economy affects people,” the president added.
And her nearly nine years at the Fed, where she was appointed governor in 2014 by Barack Obama, will be a valuable asset to her in the face of the main economic subject of the moment: inflation.
It is indeed the Fed which is maneuvering to try to slow down the rise in prices.
Favorable to a strictly regulated financial system, it is a monetary “dove”, leaning towards a rather accommodating interest rate policy – as opposed to “hawks”.
The Fed confirmed in a statement that Ms. Brainard has tendered her resignation from the Federal Reserve, which will be effective around February 20.
“Lael brought tremendous talent and superb results to everything she did at the Federal Reserve. (…) She will be truly missed,” said the president of the institution, Jerome Powell, quoted in the communicated.
– Jared Bernstein at the CEA –
Democrat, specialist in international economy, Lael Brainard advised former President Bill Clinton. Then, under the Obama era, was Deputy Secretary of the Treasury – the equivalent of the Ministry of Economy and Finance – in charge of international affairs.
Joe Biden also mentioned in his press release his intention to appoint one of his current economic advisers, Jared Bernstein, to head the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), another entity attached to the White House.
Its current manager, Cecilia Rouse, will indeed return to teach at Princeton University.
“Jared is a brilliant thinker and one of my closest and longest-serving economic advisers,” commented Joe Biden.
“He is an expert on the empowerment of labor and worker-centered economic policy, which has long been at the heart of my economic vision,” added the US president.
His appointment will have to be validated by the Senate.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) was created by Congress in 1946 and consists of three members. He is responsible for advising the American president on his economic policy “on the basis of data, research and evidence”, details the CEA website.
The National Economic Council (NEC), set up by Bill Clinton in 1993, includes a more political dimension, since it is attached to the executive office of the American president, of which it manages the implementation of the economic program, among others.
© 2023 AFP
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