WASHINGTON — For the second time in less than a year, the White House is looking for a new head of the Council of Economic Advisers after Austan Goolsbee said late Monday that he’s leaving the post to return to academia.
The chairman of the council is arguably the second-most important economic job in the executive branch after the Treasury secretary, and Goolsbee’s departure was announced just days after a dismal government jobs report and other indications that the recovery is faltering.
A White House aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Goolsbee “felt this was an appropriate time to go back” to teaching economics at the University of Chicago. The aide said that Goolsbee, a longtime confidant of President Barack Obama, intended to remain an informal adviser to the president.
For whomever the president selects to succeed Goolsbee, the road will be tough. Economists are scaling back their forecasts for growth and hiring as a presidential campaign begins. The government in May hit its debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion and will run out of money Aug. 2 unless it is raised.
“I think what he needs is somebody who can do a good job of communicating . . . someone who is moderate enough to actually build some kind of coalition that might actually get something done in Congress,” said David Wyss, the chief economist for Standard & Poor’s in New York. “Traditionally it’s been the academic position.”
Goolsbee’s predecessor, Christina Romer, also returned to academia last summer without conveying much confidence in a sour economy recovering from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
White House aides declined to discuss possible replacements for Goolsbee.
Economic team turnover
Recent changes at key White House economic positions:
Austan Goolsbee: Chief economic adviser, returns to the University of Chicago to teach Peter Orszag: Ex-budget director
Christina Romer: Council of Economic Advisers head, replaced by Goolsbee
Larry Summers: National Economic Council director, replaced by Gene Sperling
Jared Bernstein: Vice President Joe Biden’s chief economic adviser quit recently
