politics

Watch Live: Biden and Harris Introduce Key Economic Team Members

Kevin Lemarque | Reuters
  • President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are set to introduce key economic team members Tuesday afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware.
  • Biden and his transition team announced on Monday their picks for top economic posts, including Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary.
  • The transition team has not announced its pick for the director of the National Economic Council, a role that is often considered the president's top economic advisor.

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President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are set to introduce key members of their economic team Tuesday afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Biden transition team announced picks for top economic posts on Monday.

They include former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to lead the department in its 231-year history. Yellen, known for bipartisan compromise, is likely to garner support from both sides of the aisle. Markets have reacted favorably to the choice.

Neera Tanden has been picked as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Tanden, the daughter of immigrants from India, would be the first woman of color to lead the OMB. Tanden's selection has drawn criticism from Republicans and progressive Democrats. Sens. Rob Portman, D-Ohio, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have declined to commit to holding confirmation hearings for her.

Biden has selected Nigerian-born Wally Adeyemo as deputy secretary of the Treasury. He previously served as chief of staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, deputy director of the National Economic Council and deputy national security advisor. If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first Black deputy secretary of the Treasury.

The transition team has selected Princeton dean Cecilia Rouse, one of the nation's top labor economists, as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. If confirmed, Rouse will become the first African American and fourth woman to lead the council in its 74-year history.

Biden also tapped Jared Bernstein, who served as Biden's chief economist during the Obama administration, and Heather Boushey, an inequality economist and co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, to serve on the council.

"President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have chosen an accomplished, crisis-tested team, made up of historic trailblazers and representing a broad diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences, who will get to work on day one to build our economy back better — and ensure that every single American is in on the deal," the Biden transition team said in a statement Tuesday.

The transition team has not announced a selection for director of the National Economic Council, a role that is often considered the president's top economic advisor.

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