Tomas J. Philipson

Tomas Philipson
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
Acting
In office
June 28, 2019 – June 23, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byKevin Hassett
Succeeded byTyler Goodspeed (Acting)
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
In office
2017–2021
Succeeded byJared Bernstein
Personal details
BornUppsala, Sweden
Political partyRepublican
EducationUppsala University (BS)
Claremont Graduate University (MA)
University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD)

Tomas J. Philipson is a Swedish-born American economist who served as the Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump administration. He departed from the position and the Council at the end of June, 2020, to return to the University of Chicago.[1] He holds the Daniel Levin Chair in Public Policy at the University of Chicago, with posts in the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, Department of Economics, and the Law School. He was a Director of the Becker Friedman Institute at the university.

In August 2017 he was appointed by President Donald Trump to become one of three members of the Council of Economic Advisers. While Acting Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Philipson downplayed the public health risk and economic threat of the coronavirus pandemic, going so far as to question the wearing of masks to slow transmission of the disease.[2][1]

  1. ^ a b Costa, Robert, Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Jeff Stein, "A second senior economist is abruptly leaving the White House amid ongoing economic crisis", Washington Post, June 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  2. ^ Restuccia, Nick Timiraos and Andrew (2020-06-26). "WSJ News Exclusive | White House Economist Tested Positive for Covid-19". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-06-27.