Biden announces nominees for key Treasury positions

President Biden on Thursday announced his nominees for several key Treasury Department positions, as his administration prepares to implement the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that Congress passed the day before.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the nominees will be key to help accelerate the recovery from the pandemic-related economic downturn.

“They have devoted their careers to the work of strengthening the American economy and have done it with integrity,” Yellen said. “Given their extensive qualifications, I look forward to their confirmations.”

Biden announced Nellie Liang, a former Federal Reserve official, as his pick to be under secretary for domestic finance at Treasury. The position is a key role at the department in the area of financial regulation.

Liang worked at the Fed for more than three decades and most notably served as the first director of the central bank’s division of financial stability from 2010 to 2017 — a position created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Former President Trump had nominated Liang to serve on the Fed’s board of governors in 2018, but Liang pulled her nomination the following year after drawing opposition from Senate Republicans who wanted to loosen rules on banks.

Biden also announced that he is nominating Lily Batchelder, a professor at New York University, to be assistant secretary for tax policy, a position that plays a key role in Treasury’s work on tax regulations. Batchelder previously served on the White House National Economic Council during the Obama administration, and also has worked as an aide to the Senate Finance Committee.

Additionally, Biden announced that he is nominating Ben Harris to be assistant secretary for economic policy, and Jonathan Davidson to be assistant secretary for legislative affairs.

Harris was the senior economic adviser to Biden’s campaign and was also an economic adviser to Biden when he was vice president. Davidson has served as chief of staff to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and was the team lead for the Biden transition on confirmation of economic nominations.