Biden top economic aide stepping down after 2 years

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden announced Thursday that Brian Deese, who has led the White House's National Economic Council, is stepping down after two years on the job.

Biden thanked Deese, saying his work has been "critical to the passage" of several of the president's signature laws, and hailing his "unique ability to translate complex policy challenges into concrete actions that improve the lives of American people."

"When I took office, we faced high unemployment, an economy in crisis, and main streets shuttered across the country. I knew we needed to not just get families back to work and businesses re-opened, we needed to rebuild our economy so no one was left behind," the president said in a statement. "For the past two years, I have relied on Brian Deese to help me do just that."

Deese's successor remains unclear.

Deese helped guide the Biden administration through several economic challenges, including rampant inflation exacerbated by Russia's war against Ukraine and the Federal Reserve's efforts to fight inflation by raising interest rates in the hopes of slowing the US economy. He has also been critical in securing the president's legislative agenda.

His departure comes on the heels of Biden's former Chief of Staff Ron Klain stepping down after also serving in the administration since its onset in January 2021.

Klain formally departed Wednesday during a White House ceremony and was replaced with Jeff Zients, the man who led Biden's response to the coronavirus pandemic.