‘Help is on the way’: Biden unveils economic team led by Yellen as pressure mounts for COVID relief
Vowing that “help is on the way,” President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced a diverse team of Cabinet picks who will spearhead his effort to resuscitate the U.S. economy as Americans brace for more financial fallout from the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
The “tested and experienced” team — comprising Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen, White House budget chief pick Neera Tanden and four other proposed officials — is already hard at work on a sweeping COVID-19 economic stimulus bill that Biden will put forward once he’s sworn in on Jan. 20, he said at his transition team headquarters in Delaware.
“We are going to create recovery for everybody,” said Biden, who was flanked by the six nominees on stage. “Get this economy moving, create jobs, restore the backbone of this country, the middle class. Our message to everybody struggling now is this: Help is on the way.”
But Biden also urged Congress to allocate an interim relief bill “right now” to renew expiring federal unemployment benefits and provide aid for local governments, small businesses, hospitals and other cash-strapped public and private sectors ahead of Inauguration Day. “Congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief to address these urgent needs,” Biden said.
The Tuesday unveiling marked Biden’s first public appearance since breaking his foot while playing with his dog over the holiday weekend. He wore a black boot on the broken foot and walked carefully, though he told reporters he feels “good.”
Yellen, who would become the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary if confirmed by the Senate, echoed Biden’s plea for substantial economic stimulus.
Invoking her family’s Brooklyn working-class roots, Yellen said her father taught her the “value of work” as a doctor struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression.
“And now we’re facing historic crises again,” said Yellen, who’s likely to lead the Biden administration’s stimulus talks. “Lost lives, lost jobs, small businesses struggling to stay alive ... It’s an American tragedy, and it’s essential we move with urgency. Inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation.”
Tanden, whose nomination is drawing controversy on Capitol Hill because of her contentious relationship with Republicans and progressive Democrats, also invoked her family’s working-class roots.
“I am here today because of social programs, because of budgetary choices, because of a government that saw my mother’s dignity and gave her a chance,” said Tanden, who would be the first woman of color to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget. “Now it is my profound honor to help shape the budgets and programs to keep lifting Americans up.”
The other Biden nominees on stage were Wally Adeyemo, an ex-Obama administration official nominated to become the first African-American deputy Treasury secretary; Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist tapped to become the first Black woman to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey, proposed members of the council.
Biden’s push for stimulus comes as congressional Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse in negotiations, even as the U.S. coronavirus death toll nears 270,000, with infections rates spiking countrywide.
Lawmakers have not managed to allocate any more relief since passing the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in the spring because of sharp disagreements over how much money to spend. Many provisions of the CARES Act are set to expire by the end of the year, including federal unemployment benefits that have helped millions of jobless Americans stay afloat.
Before Biden’s roll-out of economic advisers, a bipartisan coalition of senators and House members introduced a $908 billion stimulus bill that was pitched as a compromise that could receive support from both Republicans and Democrats.
Biden said he hadn’t gotten a chance to eye over the middle-of-the-road measure. “I’ll take a look at it when I get back,” he told reporters after his speech.
Any stimulus bill passed before Biden takes office would need President Trump’s signature.
Trump, who’s refusing to concede the election over baseless voter fraud claims, has not said whether he’s willing to sign off on another stimulus package before leaving the White House.
