White House Office

Bio, via Department of Transportation:

Michael W. Harkins is the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for General Law. As the Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Mr. Harkins works closely with the Assistant General Counsel to supervise and manage all legal matters related to the Department of Transportation’s administrative operations, including fiscal issues, procurement matters, financial assistance, innovative financing and public private partnerships, equal employment opportunity and civil rights issues, personnel law, ethics, real property and asset management. Mr. Harkins began his legal career at USDOT as an Honors Attorney in September 2000 serving rotational details in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, United States Coast Guard, the Office of Litigation in the USDOT’s General Counsel’s Office, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In 2001, Mr. Harkins joined the FHWA where he advised the agency on all aspects of Federal-aid highway project delivery until 2014 when he joined the Office of General Law in the Office of General Counsel. Mr. Harkins is admitted to practice in Oklahoma and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma in May 2000 and his undergraduate degree also from the University of Oklahoma in May 1997. Mr. Harkins currently resides in Centreville, Virginia with his wife, Tara, daughter, Alison, and sons, Andrew and Adam. Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Bio, via White House:

Prior to becoming Chairman of the CEA, he was an economist at the American Enterprise Institute since 1997. His most recent titles at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) included James Q. Wilson Chair in American Culture and Politics and Director of Research for Domestic Policy. He also served as Director of Economic Policy Studies and Resident Scholar from 2003 through 2014. Prior to joining AEI, Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business of Columbia University. He has also served as a visiting professor at New York University’s Law School, as a consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department, and as an advisor to presidential campaigns. A noted expert in the field of public finance, Hassett has authored peer-reviewed articles in leading economics journals and has served as a columnist in leading media outlets. He received his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and his PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.