A senior economic adviser to President Joe Biden is leaving the White House to join Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
The news of Gene Sperling’s departure coincides with mounting turmoil on Wall Street and increasing concern about the nation’s financial future.
Sperling joined the Biden administration as the American Rescue Plan Coordinator – tasked with managing of the $1.9 trillion aid package to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Gene joined my administration as the only person to have ever directed the National Economic Council under two presidents, and has helped me execute a rescue plan that has led to one of the most equitable and resilient economic recoveries ever,” Biden said in a statement on Monday. “Under Gene’s leadership, the American Rescue Plan has delivered economic relief to cities and counties across the country, protected millions of union pensions, made the largest-ever federal investment in public safety, and kept thousands of small businesses afloat.”
The American Rescue Plan was not universally popular.
“Republican critics blame the pandemic aid for sparking higher inflation, an issue that has hounded the Biden administration as many voters say that groceries, housing and gasoline have become less affordable,” reports AP News.
Biden also praised Sperling for acting as his administration liaison with the nation’s largest motor vehicle manufacturers and the United Auto Workers union during recent labor negotiations. Sperling previously served as the director of the White House National Economic Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
“Mr. Sperling has a strong working relationship with Ms. Harris, having partnered with her when she was the California attorney general and she worked in the Obama administration,” reported The Washington Times. “He also served as an outside adviser during Ms. Harris’ time in the Senate, and the two worked closely on economic policy in the Biden administration.”
Sperling is not the first high-ranking member of the Biden administration to defect to support the Harris campaign since it was launched on July 21.
Senior White House advisor Anita Dunn left to advise Future Forward, a super PAC operating a $50 million advertising campaign in support of the vice president.
“I deeply value her counsel and friendship and I will continue to rely on her partnership and insights as we finish the job over the next six months,” said Biden in a statement, per CNBC.
Both Biden and Harris are facing criticism for the nation’s unstable economy. Financial services company Goldman Sachs raised the chances of the U.S. experiencing a recession within the next 12 months from 15% to 25% on Aug. 4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 1,000 points on Monday amid an increase in stock sell offs. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 also dipped – intensifying concerns.
According to Yahoo! Finance:The global stock market is in the midst of a rapidly intensifying sell-off after Friday's lackluster US jobs report added to concerns about the economy and on whether the Federal Reserve had waited too long to begin cutting interest rates. Of note, almost 100% of bets are on the central bank to cut rates by 0.5% by its September meeting…
Some of the biggest companies in the stock market saw their values plummet at the open. Apple (AAPL) declined 4% amid the sell-off and news that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) had cut its stake in the company in half. Nvidia's (NVDA) pullback continued, as it dropped as much as 13% before paring some of its losses. Tesla (TSLA) fell more than 3%.
Crypto also took a beating, with bitcoin (BTC-USD) sinking more than 8% to creep back toward the $54,000 level.
