Biden Names Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard Director of NEC

President Joe Biden has made several changes to his economic team.

Among the changes announced in a Tuesday (Feb. 14) White House press release is the appointment of Lael Brainard, who is currently vice chair of the Federal Reserve, as director of the National Economic Council (NEC).

“[Brainard] is a trusted veteran across our economic institutions, and understands how the economy affects everyday people,” Biden said in the release.

Biden also intends to nominate Jared Bernstein, who is currently a member of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), as chair of the CEA.

He also made three other appointments: Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the NEC, will also serve as an adviser for strategic economic communications; Heather Boushey, a member of the CEA, will also serve as chief economist to the Invest in America Cabinet; and Joelle Gamble, chief economist at the Department of Labor, will be deputy director of the NEC.

“Over the past two years, my economic strategy has delivered historic results for the American people,” Biden said in the release. “This team will be committed to implementing that strategy, while managing the transition of our historic economic recovery to steady and stable growth.”

Brainard said in November that after the losses that retail investors have suffered in the cryptocurrency market, she reiterated her view that the market should be regulated like traditional finance — with “strong regulatory guardrails.”

She added at the time that the crypto markets are concentrated and interconnected, so a failure of one platform affects the others.

“It reinforces I think this need to make sure that crypto finance, because it is no different than traditional finance in the risks that it exposes, needs to be under the regulatory perimeter,” Brainard said.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Brainard’s new role places her among the president’s most senior advisers and that she has been one of the Fed’s most “dovish” members, as she has signaled that the central bank may be able to lower inflation without extensively damaging the labor market.

Brainard succeeds Brian Deese, who said in early February that he would be leaving that position, according to the report.