Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, said Tuesday that President-elect Joe Biden’s reported decision to fill top roles on his economic team with former Obama administration members and other Democratic Party insiders shows that specific economic policy appears to be a “secondary consideration” of the incoming administration.
In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Stoller commented on Biden’s expected picks, namely former Obama administration officials Brian Deese and Adewale Adeyemo for director of the National Economic Council and deputy Treasury secretary, respectively, as well as Neera Tanden, head of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, to serve as Office of Management and Budget director.
“The criteria here is basically, ‘Are you in the kind of mob? Are you in the mafia of elite Democrats who know each other, who trust each other?’” Stoller said. “And if you are, then they’ll put you in a position of power. There are some diversity mandates, but that’s essentially all this is, just friends helping each other.”
“It’s not clear what any of this means for policy,” he continued. “It definitely means that policy is … a secondary consideration.”
“And I think all of this is reflective of an administration and a campaign where Biden wasn’t clear about what he wants to do,” Stoller added. “He’s still not clear about what he wants to do, and that’s kind of where we are.”
Biden is expected to introduce his selections for his economic team Tuesday afternoon.
Watch part of Stoller’s interview above.
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