President Joe Biden is set to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to serve as his economic-policy coordinator at a difficult time when the U.S. economy faces headwinds from high inflation, climbing interest rates and slowing growth, according to people familiar with the matter.
She will succeed Brian Deese as the director of the National Economic Council, which is responsible for advising the president on policy and personnel decisions and coordinating policy making across executive branch agencies. Deese is planning to step down this month.
The White House declined to comment. Biden is expected to announce her appointment as soon as this week, the people said. Bloomberg earlier reported that the president had chosen Brainard, who had long been seen as the likely contender for the job.
Brainard, 61 years old, is an economist with extensive government experience after serving as the top diplomat in the Treasury Department from 2009 to 2013 and as an adviser to President Bill Clinton on international economics.
The White House will have to navigate an U.S. economy that is cooling under the weight of higher interest rates as Biden is expected to run for re-election. The NEC director will continue to oversee the implementation of the infrastructure and semiconductor spending packages Biden signed into law, as he navigates geopolitical instability and a looming debt-ceiling standoff with congressional Republicans.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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