Although many Obama officials are fleeing to think tanks, some think tankers are still climbing the ladder in the Obama Administration.
Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), will reportedly replace Alan Krueger as Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Its chairman is a member of the Cabinet, and thus, the nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Furman was a Senior Fellow and Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. A variety of his articles and research from Brookings can be found here.
Furman was also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), where he specialized in social security and tax reform issues.
Politico notes that among other jobs, Furman is expected to play a chief role in helping President Obama pick the next Federal Reserve Chairman. Current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's term expires on January 31, 2014.
As Think Tank Watch previously noted, there is decent possibility that the next Federal Reserve Chairman could come from think tank land.
Will Furman advocate for the next Fed Chairman to come from his alma mater, the Brookings Institution?
In April 2013, the Washington Post predicted that Donald Kohn, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, at the Brookings Institution, has a 5% probability of becoming the next Fed Chairman.
Perhaps the Post may recalculate once Furman is firmly in place...