Gene Sperling, a former Ripple board member, has joined Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign team.
According to a White House announcement and a report by AP, Sperling’s move comes after his role in managing Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package and his work as a liaison during the auto strikes.
Gene Sperling to Bring Crypto Expertise
Sperling served as director of the White House National Economic Council under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and will serve as a senior economic adviser to Harris.
“His work helped nearly 40 million working families get unprecedented child tax cut relief and over 8 million renters get emergency assistance to help keep their families housed,” said President Joe Biden in a statement.
Senior economics aide Gene Sperling is leaving the Biden White House to work on the Harris campaign. pic. .com/B08zsPFWvn
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) August 5, 2024
“I also looked to Gene as a trusted advisor on the economy and gave him some of the toughest assignments, including serving as my liaison to the Big 3 automakers and UAW as autoworkers fought for – and secured – record contracts,” stated Biden.
The AP report indicated that Sperling collaborated with Harris during his tenure in the Obama administration when she served as California attorney general and often advised her during her time in the Senate.
In 2015, Ripple Labs named Sperling to its board of directors to advocate for the company. “I am excited to join Ripple Labs and their mission to dramatically increase the speed and efficiency of cross-border payments through a common Internet protocol,” he said.
David Plouffe Joins Kamala Harris’ Campaign Team
Most recently, David Plouffe, another adviser to former President Obama, joined Harris’ team with crypto expertise.
Plouffe managed Obama’s 2008 campaign and played a similar role as a White House senior adviser in the 2012 reelection. He joined Binance’s Global Advisory Board in 2022 and could bring more perspectives to the crypto industry.