Biden Adviser and Ex-Ripple Board Member Joins Harris Campaign

A former member of Ripple Labs’ board of directors and one of US President Joe Biden’s top economic advisors will be departing the White House to support Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.

President Biden announced on August 5 that Gene Sperling, a top advisor in his government since 2021, will be leaving. With just three months until the presidential election, rumors circulated that Sperling would join Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, including herself and Republican contender Donald Trump as front-runners.

Sperling joined Ripple’s board in 2015 after serving as an economic adviser under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He served in the Biden administration starting in 2021. At the time of publication, Ripple’s website did not list the economic adviser as one of its nine-member board of directors.

Collaborating with Harris

During Sperling’s tenure as Obama administration attorney general in California, Sperling initially collaborated with Harris. When she served in the Senate, he often met with her as an outside advisor. The two collaborated on publicizing the child tax credit’s monthly installments during the Biden administration.

The pandemic initiatives decreased child poverty through tax credits that flowed to 40 million households and rental help for 8 million. However, Republicans accuse the pandemic aid of causing inflation to soar, a problem that has plagued the Biden administration because a large number of people claim that the cost of housing, food, and fuel has increased.

According to Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Sperling’s concerted efforts “produced the strongest economy in the world,” further supporting the White House’s claim that inflation was worldwide in scope.

Democratic governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper praised Sperling for working with states to ensure that the programs were implemented correctly and referred to the work that he led as “generational investments.”

Additionally, David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s former chief political adviser, is among the new senior advisors Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is bringing in.

The personnel change comes after weeks of rumors—and pressure from some of Harris’s supporters—that she would bring new eyes to the campaign machine she took over from President Joe Biden when he announced his intention not to seek reelection last month.

Plouffe managed Obama’s 2008 campaign and, while a senior advisor in the White House, played a similar role in Obama’s reelection in 2012.

Obama has sent Kamala an army lol

David Plouffe joining Harris's campaign
Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is bringing on a new echelon of senior advisers, most prominently David Plouffe, the former top political adviser to Barack Obama.

The personnel move follows weeks of…

— patriotmolenys (@patriotmolenys1) August 3, 2024

Taking a stand on crypto?

Given that the Harris campaign is reportedly considering taking a public stance on the technology, it is uncertain if any of the advisors will have any responsibilities involving cryptocurrencies or blockchain. Some campaign executives were scheduled to participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives from US politicians and cryptocurrency companies later this week.

Many analysts predict that cryptocurrency will be a wedge issue in the US election of 2024 between front-runners Harris, Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During his July 27 speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump assured the audience about his administration’s intentions for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.