President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, led by campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield.
Bedingfield will serve as Biden’s White House communications director, and Jen Psaki, a longtime Democratic spokeswoman, will be his press secretary.
‘Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a President, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House,’ Biden said in a statement.
‘I am proud to announce today the first senior White House communications team comprised entirely of women. These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better,’ Biden added.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive the first Presidential Daily Briefing on Monday before meeting with transition advisors.
President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, led by campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield (top row, second from left)
In a tweet Bedingfield said she is ‘unspeakably proud’ to have the opportunity to serve as the White House Communications Director
Biden also plans to name Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, as director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to a person familiar with the transition process granted anonymity to speak freely about internal deliberations.
All three are veterans of former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Before taking the reins at the Center for American Progress, Tanden was a healthcare adviser in Obama’s administration. She was also an adviser for Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Bedingfield served as communications director for Biden while he was vice president.
‘I’m unspeakably proud to have the opportunity to serve as White House Communications Director for @joebiden,’ Bedingfield tweeted on Sunday.
‘Working for him as VP and on this campaign gave me insight into what kind of capable, compassionate, clear-eyed president he will be and it will be a profound honor to be one small part of his work. It will also be an honor to work alongside the incredible women who are taking on these roles together,’ she added.
Psaki was a White House communications director and a spokesperson at the State Department.
Tanden served as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign Symone Sanders will be Harris’ chief spokeswoman.
Harris’s communications director will be Ashley Etienne, a senior adviser to Biden’s campaign who served as a communications director to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Several staffers who have been appointed to the Biden-Harris (together in 2019) press team are veterans of former President Barack Obama’s administration
Senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign Symone Sanders (pictured) will be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ chief spokeswoman
Jen Psaki (pictured in 2017), a longtime Democratic spokeswoman, will be Biden’s press secretary
Meanwhile, Biden’s former press secretary when he was vice president, Elizabeth Alexander, will be the communications director for First Lady Jill Biden.
Karine Jean Pierre, who was Harris’ chief of staff, will serve as a principal deputy press secretary for the president-elect.
Jean Pierre’s another Obama administration alum, having served as a regional political director for the White House office of political affairs.
Pili Tobar, who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director.
In addition to his communications team, Biden has also announced other nominations, including economist Cecilia Rouse as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Biden has plan to pick Wally Adeyemo, a senior international economic adviser during the Obama administration, to serve as Janet Yellen’s top deputy at the Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Economists Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey will be nominated to serve as members of the Council of Economic Advisers, the report added.
Harris’s communications director will be Ashley Etienne (left), a senior adviser to Biden’s campaign. Biden’s former press secretary when he was VP, Elizabeth Alexander (right), will be the communications director for the first lady
Karine Jean Pierre (pictured with Harris in June 2019), who was Harris’ chief of staff, will serve as a principal deputy press secretary for the president-elect
Pili Tobar (pictured), who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director
A representative for the Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tanden, Rouse, Adeyemo, Bernstein and Boushey could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday.
Rouse, a labor economist at Princeton University, whose research has focused on the economics of education, previously served as a member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Adeyemo was a senior White House national security adviser for international economics during the Obama administration, as well as a top aide to former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. He is currently the president of the Obama Foundation
Bernstein, one of Biden’s closest aides, served as his chief economic adviser as Biden, then the vice president, and Obama fought to pull the US out of the Great Recession.
He was tasked with calculating and explaining how many jobs the Obama administration’s hard-fought recovery act saved in 2009, and was widely expected to have a similarly prominent role in a Biden administration,
Boushey is known for research focusing on how inequality can hinder economic growth.
The chief executive and co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a progressive economic think tank, Boushey has been working with the Biden team as an unofficial economic adviser.
Just like Obama did in 2009, Biden will inherit a struggling economy facing serious near-term challenges.
Nearly 14 million Americans, many who used to be employed in the restaurant and hospitality industries, are receiving unemployment benefits that expire on December 26, and the coronavirus’ continued surge means there is no telling when they might be able to go back to work.
Biden’s economic agenda is likely to focus on getting the country past the coronavirus crisis, both as a health and economic issue.
A lot will depend on passage of a pandemic relief package and the distribution of a vaccine that is expected in early 2021.