The head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers is departing the administration at the end of June, according to a White House official — leaving the president with one fewer senior economist in the middle of a recession.
Tomas Philipson, the acting chairman of the CEA, took over in July 2019 after serving as a member of Trump’s three-person council for almost two years. His background is in health care economics, and he previously served as the professor of public policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy to which he will return in the fall, the White House official said.
The former chair, Kevin Hassett, recently returned to the White House for an unpaid assignment to advise the president during the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. But, he too announced he would soon leave the administration after concluding his temporary gig.
