President Joe Biden released a statement Monday morning thanking Gene Sperling, a top economic advisor, as he left his position the same morning that fears of a U.S. recession sent the U.S. stock market tumbling.
As of Monday morning, the Dow had dropped 900 points and the Nasdaq by 4%, as The Center Square previously reported.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Sperling is going to work as the senior economic advisor for the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“They should know our nation is stronger and more just because of the families that Gene has spent every day fighting for over the past three-and-a-half years,” Biden said in a statement.
Whether Sperling’s decision to leave is tied to the economic downturn or not is unclear, though the timing raised eyebrows Monday morning.
While Biden’s campaign previously touted the economic recovery and “Bidenomics” frequently, the campaign has backed off the phrase as inflation remains elevated and polls show voters are very concerned about the economy.
It remains unclear whether being responsible for the Biden economy will help with voters this November, but if Monday’s downturn becomes a recession, Harris could be saddled with the blame given her time in the White House and previous boasting of “Bidenomics.”
Sperling, who also served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, helped Biden navigate the post-COVID recovery. While jobs returned to pre-COVID levels and grew from there, prices soared during Biden’s first years in office.
Prices have risen more than 20% since Biden took office. In an effort to get inflation under control, the Federal Reserve has hiked the federal interest rate range to 5.25% to 5.5%.
Inflation has since slowed, though prices have not gone down. Job creation had remained in a decent place, but unemployment hit 4% over the summer.
Many experts expected a downturn Monday after the latest U.S. jobs data released on Friday showed far less job creation than expected.
