Obama Economic Adviser to Step Down, Teach at Princeton
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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Alan Krueger, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down from this role to return to his position as Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
“I am deeply grateful to President Obama for the opportunity to serve twice in this Administration, and for the chance to do what I could to help the Nation recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and put policies in place that create good jobs and help reignite a rising, thriving middle class,” Krueger said Tuesday in a statement. “It has been one of the highest privileges of my life to serve the American people.”
If Krueger’s resignation sounds familiar, that’s because he’s done it once before for the same reason. President Obama nominated Krueger in 2009 to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for economic policy. By October of the following year, Krueger had announced he was returning, for the first time, to his teaching responsibilities at Princeton. When the president called upon him in 2011, this time to serve as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Krueger accepted his offer once more.
Calling Krueger one of his “most trusted advisers on economic policy,” President Obama said that he had asked Krueger to lead the Council of Economic Advisers because he understands the economy and because the chairman understands the middle class.
“He’s devoted his entire career to making sure our economy works for everyone, not just those at the very top,” the president said of Krueger.
“I want to thank Alan for his service and wish him the best of luck as he returns to Princeton,” President Obama said.
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