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
Gen. Lloyd James Austin III
Secretary of Defense. Austin, a former U.S. commander in Iraq, is the first Black leader of the Pentagon. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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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 |
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Avril Haines
Director of National Intelligence. Haines (C) served as deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism and deputy CIA director in the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Joe Raedle/UPI |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. Photo by Ray Stubblebine/UPI |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI |
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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 Pat Benic/UPI |
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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 Ray Stubblebine/UPI |
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Deb Haaland
Interior Secretary. The congresswoman from New Mexico would be the first Native American to serve as the head of the department overseeing natural resources and tribal lands. Photo courtesy of Deb Haaland for Congress/Facebook
Marcia Fudge
Housing and Urban Development Secretary. The Ohio representative would be the first Black woman to lead the department in decades, if confirmed. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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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 Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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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 |
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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 |
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Janet Yellen
Treasury Secretary. The former Federal Reserve chairwoman, seen here receiving the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government in 2017, would be the
first woman to head the treasury. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Antony Blinken
Secertary of State. Shown at left with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao in 2015, Blinken served as Biden's national security adviser during the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Andy Wong/UPI |
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Alejandro Mayorkas
Homeland Security Secretary. The former Citizenship and Immigration Services director speaks at a naturalization ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 2010. Mayorkas is the first Latino to be appointed to head DHS. Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI |
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Susan Rice
Domestic Policy Adviser. Rice served as national security adviser and ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration. Pool Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI |
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Dr. Vivek Murthy
Surgeon General. Murthy will return to his role as surgeon general, a job he held during the Obama administration. Photo courtesy of U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions/Wikimedia Commons
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Thomas-Greenfield (L) 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 courtesy of U.S. State Department
Jake Sullivan
National Security Adviser. Sullivan (2nd L), served as deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo by Pete Souza/White House
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 John Angelillo/UPI |
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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 |
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Neera Tanden
Office of Management and Budget Director. Tanden, shown
here speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, is
president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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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 courtesy of the Biden-Harris Transition
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 |
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