(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, is expected to leave the White House next year, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
Deese is expected to quit as director of the National Economic Council (NEC) most likely in the spring or summer, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
It did not give a reason, but said White House officials were bracing for departures now that the midterm elections are over.
Administration aides were discussing whether Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo should move to the West Wing to lead the NEC, Bloomberg said, adding that White House coordinator for Biden’s pandemic relief measure and a senior adviser to the president, Gene Sperling, is also expected to raise his hand for Deese’s job.
Deese told the Economic Club of Washington on Sept. 27 that he had no plans to leave.
“There is no timeline for Brian’s departure and the President and Brian’s colleagues want to keep it that way,” a White House official told Reuters, adding that reports suggesting Brian has a timeline for leaving are wrong.
Another White House economic adviser, Cecilia Rouse, has made her plans clear to leave late in 2022 or early next year to return to her academic post.
(Reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Nick Macfie)
