Obama Names Longtime Aide as His Chief Economic Adviser By JACKIE CALMES Published: June 10, 2013 WASHINGTON — The Council of Economic Advisers will have a prominent voice in White House discussions after President Obama appointed his longtime adviser Jason Furman as chairman of the panel on Monday. Mr. Furman, 42, who had a large role in developing the government’s response to the economic crisis, “is one of the most brilliant economic minds of his generation,” Mr. Obama said in making the nomination official before an audience of friends and family members at the White House. The president urged the Senate to quickly confirm Mr. Furman, who has won respect from both parties despite the divisiveness of the fiscal fights of recent years. During Mr. Obama’s presidency, Mr. Furman has moved up at the White House National Economic Council, becoming principal deputy to the director, Gene B. Sperling. The departure of the current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan B. Krueger, who decided to return to Princeton, created an opening for Mr. Furman, who has been long considered a candidate for a higher post. The three-member council provides research and advice to the White House on economic policy, but some leaders of the council have been more influential and more prominent than others over the years. Mr. Obama’s first leader of the council, Christina D. Romer, was a central player during the recession. Mr. Krueger has been a frequent presence in the West Wing, given his expertise in labor markets at a time of high unemployment. Officials say that Mr. Furman, having had more personal engagement with Mr. Obama than other advisers, is expected to maintain closer ties to the president than some of his predecessors did. Mr. Furman was the economic policy director in Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign. Mr. Furman has three degrees from Harvard, including a doctorate in economics, and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. He has ties to two council chairmen in earlier administrations. N. Gregory Mankiw, who worked for President George W. Bush, advised Mr. Furman on his doctoral thesis. Joseph E. Stiglitz, chairman under President Bill Clinton, hired Mr. Furman as an aide. Mr. Furman also served on the National Economic Council in the Clinton administration. “There’s no one I’d rather turn to for straightforward, unvarnished advice that helps me to do my job,” Mr. Obama said, citing Mr. Furman’s advice to him on tax cuts for middle-income families and small businesses’ hiring. “He understands all sides of an argument.” While Mr. Furman is widely seen as a left-of-center economist, at times he has disappointed liberals with his pragmatic support for compromises that can pass Congress. On Monday, groups across the political spectrum expressed support.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:20:47 +0000
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