Bruce Reed (born March 16, 1960) is an American political advisor and non-profit administrator who was the president of the
Broad Foundation
Eli Broad ( ; June 6, 1933April 30, 2021) was an American businessman and philanthropist. In June 2019, ''Forbes'' ranked him as the 233rd-wealthiest person in the world and the 78th-wealthiest in the United States, with an estimated net worth of ...
. Prior to assuming that role in December 2013, he served as
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
to U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden and as CEO of the
Democratic Leadership Council
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 and closed in 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, prominent members include Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (who was elected president in 1992 and 1996), Delaware Senator Joe Biden (e ...
(DLC). On December 22, 2020, it was announced that Reed would serve as a
White House deputy chief of staff
The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...
in the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
, along with
Jen O'Malley Dillon
Jennifer Brigid O'Malley Dillon (born September 28, 1976) is an American political strategist and List of Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign staff members, campaign manager serving as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, White House deputy chi ...
.
Early life and education
Reed was born in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
and raised in
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an stitching awl, Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolita ...
, the son of former state senator
Mary Lou Reed (née Case) and Scott Reed. After graduating from
Coeur d'Alene High School
Coeur d’Alene High School is a four-year public secondary school in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, one of two traditional high schools in the Coeur d'Alene School District #271. It serves the northeastern half of the district, with students from the ci ...
, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1982 and completed a 92-page long senior thesis titled "
Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
, Decency, and Discontent:
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
and the Literature of Generous Anger." He then earned a master's degree in
English Literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
as a
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
.
Career
Reed served as chief speechwriter for
Tennessee Senator Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
from 1985 to 1989. He was founding editor of the DLC magazine, ''The New Democrat'' and served as policy director of the DLC from 1990 to 1991 under DLC Chairman and
Governor of Arkansas
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
. In 1992, he was deputy campaign manager for policy of the
Clinton-Gore presidential campaign. During the Clinton presidency, Reed served as chief domestic policy advisor and director of the
Domestic Policy Council
The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Co ...
. Reed oversaw the administration's criminal justice policy, and worked closely with
Joe Biden to pass "tough-on-crime" legislation including the
1994 Crime Bill. Reed also helped to write the 1996 welfare reform law known as the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The bill implemented major changes to ...
. He is credited with coining the
welfare reform catchphrase, "end welfare as we know it."
In 2006, Reed published his book ''The Plan: Big Ideas for America'', co-written by
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
. A review of the book in ''
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
'' notes "the most important big idea in the book is that Democrats should stop defending the New Deal and instead concentrate on recasting it for a more mobile society."
Reed is the author of the taunt, "change you can Xerox," from the
February 21, 2008 presidential primary debate in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. Reed supplied Senator
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
with the phrase to invoke accusations of
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
against rival Senator
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
while parodying his campaign slogan: "Change you can believe in."
[
]
In the spring of 2010, Reed took a leave of absence from the DLC to become executive director and president of the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission on deficit reduction, ...
, a commission tasked with balancing the national budget during the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
.
On January 14, 2011 he was named Chief of Staff to Vice President
Joe Biden, succeeding
Ron Klain
Ronald Alan Klain ( ; born August 8, 1961) is an American attorney, political consultant, and former lobbyist serving as White House chief of staff under President Joe Biden. A Democrat, he was previously chief of staff to two vice presidents ...
. In November 2013, it was announced that he would step down as chief of staff to become president of the
Broad Foundation
Eli Broad ( ; June 6, 1933April 30, 2021) was an American businessman and philanthropist. In June 2019, ''Forbes'' ranked him as the 233rd-wealthiest person in the world and the 78th-wealthiest in the United States, with an estimated net worth of ...
.
During the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, Reed worked as a technology policy advisor on
Biden's presidential campaign.
Shortly after Biden's victory, Reed was reportedly under consideration to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. This sparked backlash from liberal critics who questioned his views on government spending. On December 22, 2020, it was announced that Reed would serve as a
White House deputy chief of staff
The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible ...
in the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
, along with
Jen O'Malley Dillon
Jennifer Brigid O'Malley Dillon (born September 28, 1976) is an American political strategist and List of Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign staff members, campaign manager serving as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, White House deputy chi ...
.
Selected works
*
References
External links
*
*
FiscalCommission.govProfileat the
Democratic Leadership Council
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 and closed in 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, prominent members include Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (who was elected president in 1992 and 1996), Delaware Senator Joe Biden (e ...
Video interview/discussion with Reedand
Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael "Mickey" Kaus (; born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist, pundit, and author, known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on ''Slate'' until 2010. Kaus is the author of ''The End of Equality'' and ...
on
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast onl ...
, April 10, 2006
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Bruce
1955 births
Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford
American Rhodes Scholars
Chiefs of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
Biden administration personnel
Idaho Democrats
Living people
People from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Princeton University alumni