Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo is emerging as the front-runner to succeed Brian Deese as top White House economic adviser, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Biden administration prepares to shuffle its team early next year.
(Bloomberg) — Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo is emerging as the front-runner to succeed Brian Deese as top White House economic adviser, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Biden administration prepares to shuffle its team early next year.
Adeyemo would take over as director of the National Economic Council, where he previously served as a deputy director in the Obama administration. The moves are still under discussion and have not been presented to President Joe Biden, according to the people, who described the personnel deliberations on condition of anonymity.
Deese gave top Biden aides a two-year commitment to run the NEC, according to a person familiar with the matter, and is expected to depart as soon as the spring. Bloomberg News reported last month that Deese is expected to leave the administration next year, giving Biden the chance to remake his economic team ahead of an expected 2024 reelection bid.
Adeyemo’s status as front-runner for the job was cemented once it was clear Democrats retained control of the Senate in the midterm elections. With a slightly larger 51-49 majority starting in January, Biden’s party will be better positioned to confirm a new deputy secretary at the Treasury should Adeyemo leave the department.
Treasury spokeswoman Lily Adams declined to comment on personnel matters. The White House also declined to comment.
One person familiar with the matter said that Adeyemo has not had direct conversations with White House officials about a possible move.
Administrations often see changes in personnel after the midterm elections, as policy priorities shift and staff seek out fresh opportunities. Some of those changes are already in the works at the Treasury.
- Itai Grinberg, a deputy assistant secretary in the Treasury’s international affairs unit, is expected to depart at the end of this year to return to academia, according to people familiar with the matter. Grinberg has been working closely with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, including traveling with her to Group of Seven and G-20 meetings to collaborate on international tax issues.
- Michael Plowgian, currently a counselor at the Treasury Department, is being considered to replace Grinberg, the people said.
- Natasha Sarin, who is a counselor for tax policy and implementation, is also considering leaving to return to academia, the people said. Sarin worked on planning and implementation at the Treasury for the Inflation Reduction Act’s $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service.
- John Morton, a climate counselor, also plans to depart, and agency officials are eager to fill his position but have yet to identify candidates, according to the people familiar with the matter.
- David Lipton, a senior counselor to Yellen since the beginning of her tenure, left last month, and Marti Adams, her executive secretary, also recently departed.
- Jay Shambaugh, a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday to be the department’s undersecretary for international affairs. In that job, Shambaugh will oversee US currency policy, economic relations with China, and the unit at the Treasury that scrutinizes foreign direct investments for national-security risks.
The changes at the Treasury and in Biden’s inner circle of economic advisers come as the president is expected to seek a second term, with a formal decision early next year. Biden’s stewardship of the economy will be a central issue for voters in a reelection bid, and the president will need to confront a new political landscape in Washington.
Biden’s party fared better than expected in the midterms, with Democrats tightening their grip on the Senate.
But Republicans will take control of the House in January, and are unlikely to work with the president on new legislation. GOP leaders — eager to extract cuts from Medicare and Social Security programs — are threatening a showdown over raising the debt ceiling.
Read more: Biden Risks 2023 Standoff on Debt as GOP Digs In, Democrats Wait
Yellen has recently faced questions about how long she will stay in her job. She sought to put those inquiries to rest, saying at a Nov. 30 conference: “I have no plans to leave.”
But questions about her future resurfaced last week after a Fox Business report that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is under consideration for Treasury secretary.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the report “pure speculation.”
–With assistance from Christopher Condon.
(Updates with Shambaugh’s confirmation in final bullet point)
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