Joe Biden appoints Brian Deese to lead National Economic Council

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- President-elect Joe Biden tapped Brian Deese, a former Obama senior adviser, to be the director of the National Economic Council, the transition team announced Thursday.

Deese served as deputy director on the council and the Office of Management and Budget for former President Barack Obama. He also played a leading role on climate change in the administration.

"Brian is among the most tested and accomplished public servants in the country -- a trusted voice I can count on to help us end the ongoing economic crisis, build a better economy that deals everybody in, and take on the existential threat of climate change in a way that creates good-paying American jobs," Biden said.

Deese's appointment comes days after Biden nominated and appointed officials to six key economic positions in his administration. He nominated former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to be treasury secretary. She would be the first woman to serve in the position if confirmed.

He also nominated Wally Adeyemo to serve as deputy treasury secretary; Cecilia Rouse as chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Neera Tanden as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. He appointed Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

In his role as director of the National Economic Council, Deese will advise Biden on domestic and international economic policy and coordinate the economic agenda of the administration.

Meet President Joe Biden's top adviser picks

Marcia Fudge

Housing and Urban Development Secretary. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (L) looks on as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Fudge, the first Black woman to lead the department in decades, speaks at a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI | License Photo

Deanne Criswell

Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Criswell testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Capitol Hill. If confirmed, Criswell will become the first woman to lead FEMA. Pool Photo by Drew Angerer/UPI | License Photo

Merrick Garland

Attorney General. Judge Merrick Garland (L) of the U.S. Court of Appeals was nominated by President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court in 2016 but the Senate refused to hold a confirmation hearing for him. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Xavier Becerra

Secretary of Health and Human Services. Becerra, California's attorney general, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on February 23. Pool Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo

Shalanda Young

Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director. Young previously worked as a staffer for the House Committee on Appropriations. She is the first Black woman to hold the position. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Rep. Deb Haaland

Secretary of Interior. Haaland, D-N.M., speaks during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination on February 23. She is the first Native American to ever be nominated to serve in the Cabinet. Pool Photo by Graeme Jennings/UPI | License Photo

Adewale Adeyemo

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Economist Adewale Adeyemo testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing on February 23. He served as deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo

Willliam Burns

CIA Director. William Burns has served in the U.S. State Department through five presidential administrations, including as U.S. ambassador to Jordan under former President Bill Clinton and ambassador to Russia under former President George W. Bush. Pool Photo by Tom Brenner/UPI | License Photo

Vivek Murthy

Surgeon General. Murthy testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Murthy will return to his role as surgeon general, a job he held during the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Caroline Brehman/UPI | License Photo

Marty Walsh

Labor Secretary. Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a pro-union politician who previously served as the head of the Boston Trades Council. Pool Photo by Graeme Jennings/UPI | License Photo

Katherine Tai

U.S. Trade Representative. The attorney currently serves as chief trade counsel for the House ways and means committee. Pool Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Michael Regan

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. Regan, who has served as secretary of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality, he would become the first Black person to hold this position during the EPA's existence. He said he would focus on environmental justice in the role. Pool Photo by Brandon Bell/UPI | License Photo

Miguel Cardona

Education Secretary. Cardona, Connecticut's commissioner of education, speaks during his confirmation hearing to be secretary of education, the first Latinx person to hold the position. He began his career as an elementary school teacher. Pool Photo by Anna Moneymaker/UPI | License Photo

Isabella Casillas Guzman

Small Business Administration. Guzman previously served as director of California's Office of the Small Business Advocate. Pool Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Alejandro Mayorkas

Homeland Security Secretary. President Joe Biden (L) looks toward Mayorkas, the first Latinx person to hold the position, before signing executive orders advancing his priority to modernize the U.S. immigration system. Pool Photo by Doug Mills/UPI | License Photo

Jake Sullivan

National Security Adviser. Sullivan served as deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo

Antony Blinken

Secretary of State. Blinken speaks during his confirmation hearing. He previously served as Biden's national security adviser during the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Graeme Jennings/UPI | License Photo

Linda Thomas-Greenfield

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Thomas-Greenfield served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs, director-general of the U.S. Foreign Service and U.S. ambassador to Liberia in the Obama administration. Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI | License Photo

Janet Yellen

Treasury Secretary. The former Federal Reserve chairwoman, seen here receiving the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government in 2017, is the first woman to head the treasury. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

John Kerry

Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change. The former secretary of state has helped spearhead programming on climate change and oceans for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Photo by Stefani Reynolds/UPI | License Photo

Denis McDonough

Veterans Affairs Secretary. McDonough served as White House chief of staff during President Barack Obama's second term. He has also worked as deputy national security adviser and chief of staff of the National Security Council. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

Brian Deese

National Economic Council Director. Deese served as deputy director on the council and the Office of Management and Budget for the Obama administration. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Susan Rice

Domestic Policy Adviser. Rice, who previously served as national security adviser and ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 2020. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

Gen. Lloyd James Austin III

Secretary of Defense. Austin, a former U.S. commander in Iraq, is the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Jennifer Granholm

Energy Secretary. The former two-term governor of Michigan, advocated for clean energy in her state and helped the Obama administration build the multibillion-dollar bailout of Detroit's' auto manufacturers and pushed for them to invest in electric vehicles. Photo by Jim Watson/UPI | License Photo

Peter Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary. The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., Buttigieg would be the first openly gay person in Biden's Cabinet if confirmed by the Senate. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Avril Haines

Director of National Intelligence. Haines served as deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism and deputy CIA director in the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Joe Raedle/UPI | License Photo

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci will remain in his current role that he has held in the Trump administration. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Jen Psaki

Press Secretary. Psaki has previously served as spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State and held various communications roles in the Obama administration. In her new role, she has vowed to bring "truth and transparency" back to the briefing room. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Gina Raimondo

Commerce Secretary. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo was also considered as a potential running mate for Biden, as well as a choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Samantha Power

USAID Chief. Samantha Power (R), who served as President Barack Obama's U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is nominated to head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Pool Photo by Anthony Behar/UPI | License Photo

Tom Vilsack

Agriculture Secretary. Vilsack also served in this post from 2009 to 2017. He is a former governor of Iowa. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

Xavier Becerra

Health and Human Services Secretary. The California attorney general, shown here speaking at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, is the first Latino to be appointed to head HHS. Photo by Ray Stubblebine/UPI | License Photo

Ron Klain

Chief of Staff. The former White House ebola response coordinator has been an adviser to Biden for decades. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo

Cedric Richmond

Office of Public Engagement Director. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., is former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Pool Photo by Patrick Semansky/UPI | License Photo