Biden’s top economic adviser to leave White House for Harris campaign

For the second time in as many weeks, a top adviser to President Biden is leaving the White House to focus on Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

The White House announced Monday that senior economic adviser Gene Sperling is stepping down to take the same role on Ms. Harris’ campaign.

Mr. Sperling has a strong working relationship with Ms. Harris, having partnered with her when she was the California attorney general and he worked in the Obama administration. He also served as an outside adviser during Ms. Harris’ time in the Senate, and the two worked closely on economic policy in the Biden administration.

In a statement, Mr. Biden said he made the right choice when he picked Mr. Sperling to help address the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“His work helped nearly 40 million working families get unprecedented child tax cut relief and over 8 million renters get emergency assistance to help keep their families housed,” Mr. Biden said. “Under Gene’s leadership, the American Rescue Plan has delivered economic relief to cities and counties across the country, protected millions of union pensions and made the largest-ever federal investment in public safety and kept thousands of small businesses afloat.”

Mr. Sperling is the latest Biden adviser to jump ship for Ms. Harris. Anita Dunn, a longtime adviser to Mr. Biden, announced last week she will leave the White House to join a PAC dedicated to supporting Ms. Harris’ campaign. She was the first major departure from the White House since Mr. Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21.

Mr. Sperling served under President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama as director of the White House National Economic Council.

During his time in the Biden administration, Mr. Sperling managed the $1.9 trillion pandemic spending package. He served as the White House to the union and car companies during the auto strikes.

But he was also highly criticized by Republicans for supporting spending packages they say fueled soaring inflation. They also say he was slow to respond to rising prices, which has dogged the Biden administration with voters saying household goods have become too expensive.

A weaker-than-expected jobs report released last week raised concerns about the U.S. economy and has fueled fears of a recession.