White House senior adviser Gene Sperling is leaving his administration position to work with Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign as Democrats look to challenge Donald Trump on policy issues in November's election.
Sperling will become a senior economic adviser to Harris’ policy team, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Sperling served under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as director of the White House National Economic Council. President Joe Biden tapped him to manage the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, a role in which Sperling implemented a temporary expansion of the child tax credit. He also served as the White House liaison with unions and auto companies during a labor strike.
“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,” Biden said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.
Sperling first worked with Harris when she served as California attorney general during the Obama administration. He consulted with her frequently as an outside adviser while she was in the Senate. The two partnered during Biden’s presidency to promote monthly payments for the child tax credit, among other policies.
The pandemic program has halved child poverty with tax credits given to 40 million families and provided rental assistance to 8 million families.
But Republican critics have blamed the pandemic aid for fueling higher inflation, an issue that has dogged the Biden administration as many voters say groceries, housing and gasoline have become less affordable. Financial markets opened Monday with a selloff as a weaker-than-expected jobs report last week raised concerns about the resilience of the U.S. economy.
The White House says the inflation is global, with chief of staff Jeff Zients saying the efforts coordinated by Sperling are “producing the strongest economy in the world.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, described the work Sperling spearheaded as a “generational investment” and praised him for working with states to get the programs off the ground. (my/jm)
