Biden taps former Warren aide for economic team

President-elect Joe Biden on Monday tapped Bharat Ramamurti, a former adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as a new member of his economic team.

Ramamurti, who sits on the congressional commission overseeing COVID-19 relief funding, will serve as deputy director for financial reform and consumer protection on the National Economic Council.

David Kamin, an economic and budget adviser in the Obama White House who’s now a law professor at New York University, will serve as deputy director for the council, which will be led by Brian Deese, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration.

The Biden transition team also announced Joelle Gamble, a board member at the progressive Roosevelt Institute, as a special assistant to the president for economic policy.

“Today’s appointees have broad viewpoints on how to build a stronger and more inclusive middle class,” Biden said in a statement Monday. “With their robust experience and qualifications, they will provide the needed voices to guide my administration in overcoming our nation’s unprecedented economic challenges.”

All three appointments — none of which require Senate confirmation — garnered praise from progressive groups, who have previously expressed disappointment in many of Biden’s centrist and moderate picks for Cabinet and advisory positions.

“The appointments of David Kamin, Bharat Ramamurti, and Joelle Gamble are a major win for progressives and all Americans who want the next administration to use every single tool at their disposal to end structural inequality in our economy,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, and Varshini Prakash, founder of the Sunrise Movement, in a joint statement. “We will not always always agree, but it will take social movements, legislators in Congress, and likeminded allies in the executive branch to hold the President-elect accountable to delivering results for working families across America.”