(Reuters) - President Barack Obama has chosen former acting budget chief Jeffrey Zients to replace Gene Sperling as his top economic adviser, marking a shakeup in his advisory team while the White House struggles to gain traction for its economic agenda.
Sperling, a longtime economic adviser to Obama and to former President Bill Clinton, will stay through the fall to help with what are expected to be contentious talks with Congress about the budget and the U.S. debt ceiling. Sperling steps down on January 1.
Zients, a familiar figure at the White House, served two stints as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, but was passed over for the top job.
"I am certain that in Jeff's hands we will continue to have strong leadership of our economic policy team and his advice will be critical as we keep moving this country forward and building an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead," Obama said in a statement on Friday.
The president has tried to boost his public emphasis on jobs and the economy with tours this summer focused on housing policy and making higher education more affordable, but his message has been eclipsed largely by the attention in Washington on potential U.S. military strikes againstSyria.
Sperling, who worked on tax reform and job creation measures during his White House tenure, was "was central to designing policies to help support the housing recovery and was a driving force behind our manufacturing agenda and our efforts to attract jobs and investment to the United States," Obama said.
