White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that Biden himself played a similar role as a “point person” in the implementation of the 2009 stimulus by the Obama administration.
Sperling declined to comment. The White House also declined to comment.
Sperling, who currently lives with his family in Los Angeles, would bring a wealth of experience on economic policy issues to the stimulating tsarist post. He was head of the National Economic Council under Clinton and Obama as well as a top adviser to the Treasury Department under Obama.
Sperling has been at odds with progressives over the past few years over his role in negotiations over various attempts to reduce shortages. But he has moved further left over the past few years, campaigning for massive expanded spending to fight Covid and assist an economy that remains about 11 million jobs, less than the number that would exist without the pandemic. When Larry Summers, the former Obama secretary of state, asked an open question whether the latest stimulus was too big, Sperling quickly replied that he felt it was not so.
Sperling has a solid role in the Washington policy chair that has existed for decades – known for the meetings with a phone behind his ear and piles of papers in his hands – Sperling has deep relationships over Capitol Hill. He was looking for an important role in the Biden government. And the White House has indicated to lawmakers that he wants him in the top lock of OMB.
But the idea of Sperling as a relapse into Teeth, according to Hill, has received several sources or is aware of the discussions.
Instead, According to four sources familiar with the White House discussions, Shalanda Young will increasingly be likely to be Biden’s last choice to lead OMB. Young, who is currently Biden’s nominee as deputy budget director, has been a long-time assistant to Congress ‘budget and has the support of the Congress’ Black Caucus, the three top Democratic leaders in the House, members of the Spanish caucus and some Republicans. .
Some members of the House have indicated to the government that it would not look good to bypass Young, a black woman, and name a white man to replace Teeth, who would have been the first Native American to do so. post held.
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee forwarded Young’s nomination to the deputy director of OMB on Wednesday and sent her nomination to the floor for a final vote for confirmation. Psaki had earlier said Young would likely be appointed acting director as soon as he was confirmed and as Biden decided on a new appointment.
After Tanden’s name was withdrawn from consideration, members of the Congressional Black Caucus launched an aggressive pressure campaign to persuade Biden to put Young in the first place. Although he said he was not aware of the government’s plans, Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) Said Biden could “definitely not make a mistake” by calling Young because she was “brilliant.”
A House Democrat who asked to speak on anonymity to discuss sensitive talks said if the White House does not elect Young, it would be an insult to the Congress Black Caucus and to leadership in the House.
Several Democratic members who spoke to POLITICO in the past week said they saw Young as an inevitable choice, saying that her nomination for the role would be a commitment by the White House to members of the black caucus, who repeatedly made clear that black voters were instrumental. to his victory in November.
“When I think of opportunities to make sure we talk about diversity, here’s another chance – Shalanda would be the first woman of color to serve in the position,” Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.) said Wednesday in an interview. ‘So this is a chance to break a ceiling again. And I think if you have the chance to break ceilings, you do. ‘
Chris Cadelago and Natasha Korecki contributed to this report.