Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, a former senior adviser at investment firm BlackRock and Obama-era Treasury official, is likely to be appointed as President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser early next year, according to Bloomberg Wednesday.
Adeyemo, if selected, would become the second BlackRock alumnus in a row to serve as director of Biden’s National Economic Council, having served as chief of staff to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in addition to working as a senior adviser at BlackRock’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, according to the Treasury Department. The council’s current director, Brian Deese, served as BlackRock’s global head of sustainable investing before taking his position in the Biden administration, and is expected to leave this spring after fulfilling his promise to serve for two years, Bloomberg reported.
BlackRock has drawn significant criticism from officials in Republican states this year, who have alleged that the firm has prioritized social issues over generating returns for their customers. While White House personnel have yet to formally present options to Biden, confirmation of a Democrat-controlled Senate come the new year has made it significantly easier for Biden’s team to replace Adeyemo at Treasury, boosting the likelihood he gets tapped for the position, Bloomberg reported.
Adeyemo initially joined the Treasury Department in 2008, becoming a key player in the Obama administration’s response to the Great Recession before serving as the first chief of staff to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to Treasury. Adeyemo, who served as a senior international economic adviser to Obama starting in 2015, was named president of the Obama Foundation in 2019.
Several other staffers within the White House and Treasury Department are expected to depart following the midterms, as the administration refocuses its policy objectives and officials look for greener pastures, according to Bloomberg. Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse, for example, is reportedly expected to return to her position at Princeton Universty following the conclusion of a two-year leave of service in the new year.
Decisions regarding personnel likely will not be finalized until early next year, Bloomberg reported.
Neither the Treasury Department nor the White House immediately responded to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.
Post written by John Hugh DeMastri. Republished with permission from DCNF. Images via Becker News.
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