WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tapped Gene Sperling, a longtime Democratic economic policy expert, to oversee the implementation of his $1.9 trillion stimulus package, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Sperling’s position could be announced as soon as Monday, when Mr. Biden is set to deliver remarks on implementing the relief, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the selection.
The White House declined to comment, and Mr. Sperling did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Sperling served as the director of the National Economic Council, a White House office, during the Clinton and Obama administrations, and he served as an economic adviser for Mr. Biden’s campaign.
Mr. Sperling had been considered a possible candidate to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget after Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination, but the White House instead will use him to oversee the American Rescue Plan. Mr. Biden signed the bill into law Thursday after it passed the House and Senate without any Republican support.
The package includes $1,400 stimulus checks for millions of Americans, child tax credits, state and local aid, money to help schools to reopen, and funds to aid in distributing COVID-19 vaccines.
Mr. Biden, as vice president, served a similar role under President Barack Obama, overseeing the implementation of Mr. Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package as the nation was recovering from the economic collapse of 2008. The now-president often cites that experience when discussing the importance of accountability when stimulus funds are spent.
Mr. Sperling’s role could be crucial to the public’s assessment of the relief package and, ultimately, of the Biden presidency. With a flood of nearly $2 trillion in government spending, problems and mistakes are always a possibility, and Republicans will be on the lookout for examples of misspent funds.
Mr. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are kicking off a nationwide tour this week to sell the relief package, seeking to avoid the mistakes Mr. Biden and other Democrats believe Mr. Obama made in not being direct enough about the benefits of the 2009 stimulus package.
The federal government could face hurdles in administering the programs because of the sheer scale of the package, which is one of the largest economic relief programs in American history. Much of the work will fall on the IRS, which will handle the distribution of expanded child tax credits.
Some Americans have already started to receive their stimulus checks through direct deposit, but the other elements of the relief could take months to dole out. One signal of the challenges that lie ahead: Billions of dollars from relief packages passed under the Trump administration still have not been distributed.
The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein contributed to this report.
First Published: March 15, 2021, 3:33 a.m.
