NEW YORK – More than 400 economists and former high-ranking US policymakers are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and her vision for the American economy, according to a document announcing the endorsement seen by CNN. The mass endorsement lands as Harris tries to erode former President Donald Trump’s lead on the economy, a critical issue that many Americans say could decide their vote this election. The backing for Harris comes largely from left-leaning economists and officials who served under Democrats, including top Biden economist Brian Deese; Obama administration officials Jason Furman, Bill Daley and Penny Pritzker; and Clinton-era policymakers Robert Reich and Alan Blinder, who also served as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The choice in this election is clear between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all,” the endorsement document reads. It is a choice between inequity, economic injustice, and uncertainty with Donald Trump or prosperity, opportunity, and stability with Kamala Harris, a choice between the past and the future. The two candidates are set to deliver dueling speeches this week detailing their contrasting economic agendas. Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks on his tax plan on Tuesday in Georgia, a key battleground state that he lost in 2020. Only a few of the endorsees appear to have served under Republicans, including Sean O’Keefe, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, and NASA administrator under George W. Bush. Several notable economists threw their weight behind Harris, including University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers and Claudia Goldin, who won the Nobel Prize last year for tracking women’s labor participation and the evolving wage gap.

With Kamala Harris in the White House, workers, families, and businesses can be confident that they have a president who will work relentlessly to build a strong, pro-growth economy for all Americans, reads the endorsement, which was also signed by former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and ex-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, both Democrats. Some other Democratic heavyweights, including former Clinton Treasury secretaries Larry Summers and Robert Rubin, endorsed Harris earlier this month as part of a broader endorsement by business leaders including Mark Cuban and James Murdoch. Trump has focused extensively on the economy, arguing that he will build on his pre-Covid economic success if he’s returned to the White House. (CNN)…[+]