Biden names Neera Tanden as new domestic policy adviser

President Biden announced Friday that Neera Tanden will be his new domestic policy adviser, replacing outgoing adviser Susan Rice.

Tanden, who has served as assistant to the president and staff secretary, will be replaced by Stefanie Feldman. Feldman, a longtime Biden adviser, is deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser to the White House domestic policy adviser.

“I am pleased to announce that Neera Tanden will continue to drive the formulation and implementation of my domestic policy, from economic mobility and racial equity to health care, immigration and education,” Biden said in a statement.

He noted that Tanden will be the first Asian American to lead any of the three major White House policy councils in history. Tanden was previously president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. 

Biden had nominated Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget in 2021 at the start of his administration. She withdrew her nomination after not getting support from centrist Senate Democrats amid controversy, which stemmed from her time at the Center for American Progress. She had written risky tweets, including one comparing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to the “Harry Potter” character Voldemort.

Tanden previously worked as senior adviser for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Obama.

“She was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and helped drive key domestic policies that became part of my agenda, including clean energy subsidies and sensible gun reform. While growing up, Neera relied on some of the critical programs that she will oversee as Domestic Policy Advisor, and I know those insights will serve my Administration and the American people well,” Biden said in his statement.

Tanden also has had her hands in campaigns, and her promotion to domestic policy adviser comes a week after the president launched his reelection bid. She was director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign and policy director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The president announced last month that Rice would step down from her role. She has been domestic policy adviser since the start of the administration and has handled politically charged issues from gun violence to student loans.

Feldman worked for Biden when he was vice president, after the Obama administration at the University of Delaware, on the Biden campaign in 2020, and then at the White House. Biden noted she is one of his “longest-serving and most trusted advisors.”

Biden also announced Friday that Zayn Siddique will be promoted to principal deputy of the Domestic Policy Council. Siddique was previously deputy assistant to the president for economic mobility.