Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, September 22, 2024.
Matlock | Reuters
Over 400 economists and former economists White House Policy advisers announced their support for Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in an open letter on Tuesday.
The endorsements come as Democrats and Republicans work to cast their respective candidates as better choices for the U.S. economy in the November election, as the high cost of living remains a top concern among voters in national polls.
“The choice in this election is clear,” the letter reads. “It’s a choice between inequality, economic injustice, and uncertainty with Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Prosperity, opportunity and stability.”
Most of the 405 signers are progressive economists, many of whom have served in Democratic administrations, including President Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
These include Harvard University economist Jason Furman, who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration; Evercore founder Roger Altman, a former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; Penny Pritzker, former Commerce Secretary under Obama; former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder; as well as the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, etc. Former staff of regulatory agencies. CNN First report endorsement.
Some on the list, such as Brian Deese, Biden's former National Economic Council director, are already advising the Harris campaign behind closed doors.
Some of the signers served in Republican administrations. Sean O'Keefe served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget in the White House under former President George W. Bush. Philip Braun was a staff member on former President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers.
The letter could provide a theme for Harris' upcoming economic-focused speech on Wednesday, in which she is expected to unveil new policy proposals.
Some signatories, including Furman, have previously criticized some of Harris' proposals. For example, he opposed her plan to impose a federal ban on “price gouging” in the food and grocery industry.
“Do I like her suggestion about price gouging? No.” Forman He said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in August.
Harvard economist Jason Furman.
Anjali Sundaram | CNBC
Still, he joins a chorus of economists who oppose many of Trump's economic proposals, including tough tariffs on all imports, deep corporate tax cuts and giving the president a say in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.
Ahead of Biden's decision to drop out of the race and back Harris, a slew of progressive and center-left economists had already voiced opposition to Trump's plans and support for the Democratic campaign.
In one case, 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists endorsed Biden's candidacy on June 25, two days before a decisive debate that ultimately led the president to abandon his re-election bid.