Biden Campaign Adds Transition Team Member Joelle Gamble To National Economic Council

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced Dec. 21 that Joelle Gamble is joining the National Economic Council.

Gamble, a Princeton and UCLA graduate, has been named a special assistant to the president for economic policy. Gamble is currently serving on the Biden-Harris transition team’s domestic economic policy team. Before joining the team, Gamble worked for the Omidyar Network, a social change venture. Gamble also worked as a senior advisor to the president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank.

Biden said in a statement, the members of his economic team, including Gamble, were selected for their wide range of experiences and knowledge.

“Working families are struggling through the deepest, most inequitable, economic and jobs crisis in modern history. This is no time to build back the way things were before — this is the moment to build a new American economy that works for all,” Biden said. “Today’s appointees have broad viewpoints on how to build a stronger and more inclusive middle class. With their robust experience and qualifications, they will provide the needed voices to guide my administration in overcoming our nation’s unprecedented economic challenges.”

The news of Gamble’s appointment was largely seen as positive by progressives and Democrats, but Republicans may have an issue with Gamble’s previous statements.

According to Fox News, Gamble was extremely critical of Trump’s immigration policies, characterizing some as “Xenophobic” during the first GOP debate in 2016. Gamble also tweeted during a GOP debate how concerned she was that Trump kept talking about the border wall.

During the debate in 2016, President Trump said immigration was “not a subject that was on anybody’s mind until I brought it up at my announcement,” referring to his announcement of a new border wall and that Mexico will pay for it.

With Trump leaving office in less than 30 days, the Biden Administration will be responsible for pulling the nation out of the recession that the coronavirus pandemic threw the country in. Some of Biden’s plans include a third, larger coronavirus stimulus package, cutting or eliminating student loan debt, and closing the racial wealth gap.