Editing Gene Sperling (section)

=== Obama administration ===

From 2009 to 2011, Sperling served as a counselor to Treasury Secretary [[Timothy Geithner]]. He advised on responding to the financial crisis, was a member of the [[Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry|Obama Auto Rescue Task Force]], was Geithner's top aide on fiscal, budget, tax, and small business issues, and coordinated the Treasury efforts on design and passage of the Affordable Care Act.<ref>{{cite book | last = Geithner | first = Timothy | author-link = Timothy Geithner | title = Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises | publisher = [[Crown Publishing Group]], [[Random House]] | date = 2014 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rrTwAgAAQBAJ | isbn = 9780804138598}}</ref> Sperling was a leading advocate in the administration for increasing refundable tax credits for working families, extending unemployment benefits, adding restrictions on executive compensation for companies receiving public funds, and proposing a fee on major financial institutions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Corn|first=David|title=Is Larry Summers' Potential Successor Really a Wall Street Ally?|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/gene-sperling-wall-street/|access-date=November 25, 2020|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Ioffe">{{Cite magazine|last=Ioffe|first=Julia|date=March 27, 2013|title=The All-Night King of the Capital|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/112739/gene-sperlings-all-nighters-inside-nec-chairs-power-politics|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0028-6583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Scheiber|first=Noam|date=December 30, 2010|title=Is the Favorite to Replace Larry Summers Too Close To Wall Street?|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/80620/the-favorite-replace-larry-summers-too-close-wall-street|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0028-6583}}</ref> Sperling was reported to have been one of the key members of the administration to advocate to President Obama that he save Chrysler.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Alter|first=Jonathan|title=The Promise|pages=177}}</ref> Sperling is credited with designing the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which created a $30 billion fund for loans and the State Small Business Credit Initiative.<ref name="Ioffe"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Calmes|first=Jackie|date=September 13, 2013|title=Ex-White House Aide to Be Economic Adviser (Published 2013)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/us/politics/ex-white-house-aide-to-be-economic-adviser.html|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Calmes|first=Jackie|date=January 21, 2011|title=In Sperling, a Political Strategist Known for Getting It Done (Published 2011)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/economy/21sperling.html|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In January 2011, President [[Barack Obama]] appointed Sperling as the director of the [[National Economic Council (United States)|National Economic Council]], Sperling's second tenure in that position. 
In that role, Sperling played a key role representing the White House in budget negotiations with Congress as well as serving as the White House point person on several of the president's top priorities including job creation, manufacturing policy, housing, GSE reform, and skills initiatives. He was credited with being the key architect of the $447 billion American Jobs Act<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldfarb|first=Zachary A.|date=February 4, 2012|title=Gene B. Sperling: Obama's jobs creator |newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/gene-b-sperling-obamas-jobs-creator/2012/01/17/gIQAJ8KXqQ_story.html|access-date=January 3, 2023|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and he led the Obama Administration's Detroit rescue task force in 2013, which mobilized $300 million to support Detroit.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Calmes|first=Jackie|date=September 27, 2013|title=$300 Million in Detroit Aid, but No Bailout (Published 2013)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/us/300-million-in-detroit-aid-but-no-bailout.html|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Sperling also led the design and implementation of the president's initiatives on supporting workers facing long-term unemployment,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Calmes|first=Jackie|date=December 17, 2013|title=One White House Shift Is Delayed for a Month (Published 2013)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/us/politics/one-white-house-shift-is-delayed-for-a-month.html|access-date=November 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Manufacturing Innovation Hubs,<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 18, 2014|title=Obama manufacturing hubs face uphill struggle to create jobs |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-obama-manufacturing-idUSBREA2H06L20140318|first1=Julia|last1=Edwards|first2=Jason|last2=Lange|access-date=July 11, 2023}}</ref> SelectUSA,<ref>{{Cite news|last=House|first=Jonathan|title=U.S. to Redouble Efforts to Attract Foreign Direct Investment|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/10/31/u-s-to-redouble-efforts-to-attract-foreign-direct-investment/|access-date=January 3, 2023|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=October 31, 2013 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> the College Opportunity Summit,<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 16, 2014|title=White House Highlights How Groups Have Pledged to Improve Access|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/white-house-highlights-how-groups-have-pledged-to-improve-access/|first=Kelly |last=Field|access-date=July 11, 2023|website=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref> and the ConnectED initiative.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 10, 2013|title=ConnectED: Delivering the Future of Learning|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/09/10/connected-delivering-future-learning|first=Gene|last=Sperling|access-date=July 11, 2023|website=Obama White House}}</ref> According to Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "If you look at key budget legislation – in 1993, 1997, 2009, 2010 or 2012 – there is no administration official who did more over the past 20 years to dramatically expand tax credits for low-income workers, with the result that these credits now lift 10 million people out of poverty."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Allen|first=Mike|title=GENE SPERLING LEAVES WHITE HOUSE after 13 yrs. -- BARBARA BUSH RIBS MAUREEN DOWD -- NEW DNC pol. dir. -- GEORGE P. BUSH wins TX primary -- NEW GIG for Jonathan Collegio|url=https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2014/03/gene-sperling-leaves-white-house-after-13-yrs-barbara-bush-ribs-maureen-dowd-new-dnc-pol-dir-george-p-bush-wins-tx-primary-new-gig-for-jonathan-collegio-212543|access-date=November 25, 2020|website=POLITICO|date=March 5, 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

Sperling was named one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Finance worldwide in 2013 by Worth Magazine.<ref>Worth,[http://www.worth.com/index.php/component/power/?view=all The Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Finance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113174130/http://www.worth.com/index.php/component/power/?view=all |date=November 13, 2014 }}.</ref> He was named one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Washington by GQ in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 17, 2012|title=The 50 Most Powerful People in Washington|url=https://www.gq.com/gallery/50-most-powerful-people-in-washington-dc#slide=16|first1=Reid |last1=Cherlin|first2=Rob |last2=Fischer|first3=Jason |last3=Zengerle|first4=Jason |last4=Horowitz|access-date=July 11, 2023|website=GQ}}</ref>

Sperling left the National Economic Council in March 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCalmont|first=Lucy|title=Gene Sperling: Last day is March 5|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/gene-sperling-last-day-103665|access-date=January 3, 2023|website=POLITICO|date=February 19, 2014}}</ref>

Two years after Sperling left the White House, a ''[[ProPublica]]'' article reported that he had taken loans totaling between $300,000 and $600,000 from Howard Shapiro, a lawyer at [[Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr]], between 2011 and 2013.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Eisinger|first=Jesse|title=While in the White House, Economist Received Personal Loans From Top Washington Lawyer|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/white-house-economist-received-personal-loans-top-washington-lawyer?token=yIzUwxhFBlPUbcgl8aMwDk7gQ6AdqbgA|access-date=November 30, 2020|website=ProPublica|date=August 10, 2016 |language=en}}</ref> Shapiro has been Sperling's closest friend since they were housemates at Yale Law School in 1983.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sperling|first=Gene|title=Economic Dignity|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|year=2020|isbn=9781984879882|location=Chicago|pages=304}}</ref> Sperling stated that when his savings were depleted, he "took personal loans from my very closest friend of more than 30 years so that I could afford to remain in public service without having to sell our house when we had only two more years left with both of our children at home."<ref name=":2" /> His house in Washington, D.C. was valued at "around $2 million."<ref name=":2" />

A White House spokesperson said that every loan had been "reviewed and cleared by [[White House Counsel]] and the [[United States Office of Government Ethics|Office of Government Ethics]]" and that "no issue came before Sperling that prompted him to recuse himself."<ref name=":2" /> Kenneth Gross, a partner at [[Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom]] who specializes in federal gift and gratuity rules, stated that the fact that the loans were disclosed and cleared by the ethics office "takes the guy off the hook. What more is he supposed to do?"<ref name=":2" />

The ''ProPublica'' article stated that Sperling "played a role" in a federal and state government settlement with five major financial institutions over foreclosure and mortgage servicing abuses, and that WilmerHale was "one of many law firms involved in negotiating the settlement," though it did not state that Shapiro was involved in the settlement.<ref name=":2" /> Sperling told ProPublica he was not involved in the negotiations and only "helped decide that settlement money would go toward reducing principal on mortgages for borrowers whose homes were worth less than their mortgages."<ref name=":2" /> The ''[[Financial Times]]'' reported that Sperling met with groups such as the [[NAACP|National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) to persuade them of the benefits the deal would have for borrowers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nasiripour|first=Shahien|date=February 7, 2012|title=White House courts support for mortgage pact|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3e4e49d0-51de-11e1-a30c-00144feabdc0|website=Financial Times}}</ref>