Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Neera Tanden, the current president and CEO for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank focused on addressing inequality, has been tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Office of Management and Budget. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Business & Economy

Biden selects several women for top economic roles

Four women have been chosen by Biden for the top economic posts in his administration, three of them firsts in those roles.

Chabeli Carrazana

Economy Reporter

Chabeli Carrazana portrait

Published

2020-11-30 13:10
1:10
November 30, 2020
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

President-Elect Joe Biden rolled out his picks for the top economic spots in his administration, delivering a set of firsts for many of the women who he selected to shape economic policy over the next four years. 

Among the six positions announced Monday were four female economists, three of them taking on roles that would make them firsts in terms of gender or race. The selections, Biden said in a statement Monday, are reflective of his goal to pick a team that is as diverse as the country. 

“This team is comprised of respected and tested groundbreaking public servants who will help the communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and address the structural inequities in our economy,” Biden said. “…This team looks like America and brings seriousness of purpose, the highest degree of competency, and unwavering belief in the promise of America. They will be ready on day one to get to work for all Americans.”

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

In announcing the picks, Biden confirmed the news that broke last week that Janet Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, will be his nominee for Treasury secretary, making her the first woman to potentially take up the role. 

For director of the Office of Management and Budget, Biden nominated the Center for American Progress’ Neera Tanden, who, if confirmed, would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to hold the position. Labor economist Cecilia Rouse has been tapped to chair the three-person Council of Economic Advisers, making her the first Black person to vie for the role. Economist Heather Boushey has also been appointed to sit on the council, along with Jared Bernstein, both of whom advised Biden throughout the campaign. Wally Adeyemo, a former deputy director of the National Economic Council, former deputy National Security Advisor and the first chief of staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was also nominated to be deputy secretary of the Treasury, making him the first Black person in that position. 

Four of the positions, with the exception of Boushey and Bernstein, will need to be confirmed by the Senate. 

The most significant among them is the role of Treasury secretary, the principal economic advisory role to the president. Yellen brings with her a lengthy resume to the job: Other than serving as former chair of the Fed, she was also former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Bill Clinton. She would be the first person in history to hold all three of the top economic jobs if she clinches the Treasury position. 

Yellen is widely expected to sail through nomination regardless of which party holds the Senate following a Georgia runoff election that is expected to deliver the body to Republicans. She has previously been confirmed by the Senate four times and is well-regarded by conservative and progressive Democrats. 

For the Office of Management and Budget, the nomination of Tanden would put the first Indian American in that role. Tanden is the current president and CEO at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank focused on addressing inequality. Her work has centered on working families, drawing from her experience relying on welfare, food stamps and Section 8 housing as a child. 

“I remember being in the lunch line, and I was the only kid using the voucher back then for food stamps or reduced lunch,” Tanden told Politico in 2016. “I paid 10 cents; everyone was paying like $1.50. And I remember being at the Purity Supreme, which is our supermarket, and my mom was using the food stamps, and everyone else was paying with cash. And I asked her like, ‘Why do we have to use the funny money?’”

Her experiences helped shape her outlook as she went on to serve as a senior adviser for health reform during former President Barack Obama’s administration, where she worked on the Affordable Care Act, and on multiple advisory positions, including as a decades-long adviser to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 

Tanden’s confirmation, however, is considered to be one of the more difficult to pass the Senate. She has clashed with Republicans as a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and progressive Democrats in the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, some of whom maintain she played a role in ensuring Clinton and not Sanders got the party’s 2016 presidential nomination. 

On Twitter, some Republicans came out against the nomination. Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s spokesman, Drew Brandewie, said Tanden’s prior comments on Republican Senators — most recently condemning them in a seething statement regarding the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett — made it likely she stood “zero chance of being confirmed.”

Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, has been tapped to chair the three-person Council of Economic Advisers, making her the first Black person to vie for the role. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Labor economist Rouse is looking at a smoother road to confirmation. She has already served on the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama, a role that primes her to take up the position of chair under Biden, as well as as a member of the National Economic Council under Bill Clinton. Currently, she serves as dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Her expertise is focused on labor, education and equality. 

Austan Goolsbee, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers when Rouse served as a member, said on Twitter that she brings a “lifetime of expertise on issues of the workforce — pay, training, contingent work and more.” 

Boushey, the president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a liberal think tank, will bring a similar focus on inequality. Her book, “Unbound: How Economic Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It,” outlines the stifling impact of structural inequality on economic development. She has also focused on issues directly impacting women, including the gender pay gap and the unequal pressures put on working mothers through her book, “Finding Time: The Economics of Work-Life Conflict.” 

Heather Boushey has been appointed to sit on the Council of Economic Advisers. ( (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“My life’s work has been centered on ensuring our families and work are properly valued within our economy,” Boushey said on Twitter Monday. “I’m excited to bring that perspective as a CEA member. We have an opportunity to rethink how we invest in people, and we need to seize it as we rebuild our economy.”

The announcement of the economic team gives an indication of how Biden plans to tackle the economic recovery in the first days of his administration, which will inherit record high unemployment and unequal economic disparities that are hurting women and people of color the most. 

In a statement, vice president-elect Kamala Harris said that the Biden’s administration’s top focus upon entering the White House will be getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and opening up the economy “responsibly.” 

She said the team selected will be tasked with just that. 

“They share a fundamental commitment to ending this economic crisis and putting people back to work, while rebuilding our economy in a way that lifts up all Americans,” Harris said. 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

Politics

Women lead communications teams for Biden and Harris

Kate Bedingfield, Jen Psaki, Karine Jean-Pierre and Symone Sanders will be among those overseeing communications for the incoming administration.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram