Lael Brainard will take control of America’s economic nerve centre

A dimly lit room, with a small meeting table and a desk, may not look like a focal point for America’s economy. But the director of the National Economic Council’s (nec’s) office, in the White House west wing, is a crucial place. Its occupant for the past two years, Brian Deese, has crafted the administration’s response to the covid-19 slowdown, inflation and China. In the coming days Lael Brainard, a board member at the Federal Reserve since 2014, will take over the poky but powerful office.