GM General Motors Company

By Rebecca Ballhaus 

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has elevated Chris Liddell, who now serves in a White House office aimed at streamlining the federal government, to deputy chief of staff for policy coordination, the White House press secretary said Monday.

Mr. Liddell, a former Microsoft Corp. and General Motors Co. executive who was under consideration earlier this month to serve as the next director of the National Economic Council, will be a second deputy to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Mr. Trump last week named CNBC commentator Lawrence Kudlow to lead the NEC, which is the White House's top economic-advisory post. He will succeed the departing Gary Cohn.

"Chris is widely respected across the administration and is highly qualified to oversee and coordinate our policy process," Mr. Kelly said in a statement. "We look forward to having him in this new role." Mr. Kelly's other deputy is Joe Hagin, who oversees White House operations.

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement that Mr. Liddell in his new role would "manage the policy process as we continue to enact the president's agenda."

Mr. Liddell is a close ally of White House adviser Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law who has clashed with the chief of staff in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Kushner handpicked Mr. Liddell in the early days of the Trump administration to work in the Office of American Innovation, a Kushner-led operation. Mr. Kushner had also recommended Mr. Liddell for the NEC post, a White House official said.

In that office, Mr. Liddell oversaw a push to modernize the government's technology systems and also worked on deregulation efforts across the administration, according to a White House official. The official said Mr. Liddell would continue the work he is doing for that office and also oversee its policy process.

The office also played a key role in the assembly of two advisory panels made up of chief executives that met occasionally in the administration's first few months. The panels were disbanded in August in what the business leaders said was a protest of the president's failure to sufficiently condemn white supremacists following racially charged violence in Virginia.

Since then, the office's role has largely shrunk from public view. Another top adviser in the office, Reed Cordish, left the White House last month.

Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2018 12:03 ET (16:03 GMT)

General Motors (NYSE:GM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

General Motors (NYSE:GM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024