Janet Yellen
AP
President-elect Joe Biden called times “tough” for millions of Americans as he introduced his economic team on Tuesday, but said its members would get to work to “create a recovery for all.”
“Help is on the way,” said Biden in comments in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday.
In addition to Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury, Biden’s team includes Neera Tanden for director of the Office of Management and Budget; Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton University labor economist, for chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers; Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo for deputy Treasury secretary; and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey as members of the CEA.
Now read: ‘Wall Street is thrilled’: Analysts react to Yellen as Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary.
Biden’s key economic task is helping the U.S. recover from the coronavirus pandemic, and his picks are consistent with more government spending to support growth. Boushey and Tanden wrote in March, for example, that “deficit and debt concerns should not stand in the way of bold action.”
“Biden’s picks are largely in line with how Biden campaigned and where the consensus of the Democratic Party is today when it comes to fiscal policy,” said a note on Tuesday from Beacon Policy Advisors. “That’s to prize experience, diversity, and the understanding that the risk of doing too little is greater than the risk of doing too much when it comes to fiscal policy.”
Speaking about the battered U.S. economy, Yellen called it an “American tragedy,” and said it’s “essential to move with urgency.”
“Inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation,” said the former Federal Reserve chairwoman.
Biden’s selection of labor economists, what’s more, points to a focus on working people and inequality. During the campaign, the president-elect pushed for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, though that and other ambitions could be curtailed if Republicans maintain control of the Senate after a pair of runoffs in Georgia in January.
Now see: Joe Biden wants a $15 minimum wage — here’s what’s standing in his way.
Also read: Top party officials urge Georgia Republicans to stay unified ahead of key Senate runoffs.
The nominations of Yellen, Rouse, Tanden and Adeyemo all require Senate confirmation. Biden’s choice of Tanden — who heads the left-leaning Center for American Progress — has already drawn fire from Republicans for her past attacks on GOP lawmakers on social media.
Biden has said he’s committed to having an administration that “looks like America.” Yellen would be the first woman to head the Treasury, while Rouse would be the first Black woman to lead the CEA and Adeyemo would be the first Black deputy treasury secretary. Tanden would become the first South Asian American to head OMB.
U.S. stocks SPX, +1.44% pushed higher on Tuesday, as equities were aiming to build on a historic November rally fueled partly by optimism about progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine.
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