presidential election and Biden administration During the 2020 Democratic primary, Dodd was an advisor and surrogate for the campaign of his friend and colleague Joe Biden. Dodd was a member of Biden's vice presidential search committee. He was reported to have spoken against picking California Senator Kamala Harris—saying that "she had no remorse" for "her ambush on Biden in the first Democratic [primary] debate"—and to have advocated for California Congresswoman Karen Bass to be selected instead because "she’s a loyal No. 2." On March 1, 2021, the public relations and advisory company Teneo announced that it was hiring Dodd, while he was a top advisor to President Biden, as a senior advisor at the company, and that Teneo had acquired a significant minority stake in the consulting firm WestExec Advisors, which had very close ties to the new Biden administration. Controversies Countrywide Financial loan controversy In his role as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Dodd proposed a program in June 2008 that would assist troubled sub-prime mortgage lenders such as Countrywide Financial in the wake of the United States housing bubble's collapse. Condé Nast Portfolio reported allegations that in 2003 Dodd had refinanced the mortgages on his homes in Washington, D.C. and Connecticut through Countrywide Financial and had received favorable terms due to being placed in the "Friends of Angelo" VIP program, so named for Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. Dodd received mortgages from Countrywide at allegedly below-market rates on his Washington, D.C. and Connecticut homes. Dodd had not disclosed the below-market mortgages in any of six financial disclosure statements he filed with the Senate or Office of Government Ethics since obtaining the mortgages in 2003. Dodd's press secretary said "The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans," and that they "did not seek or anticipate any special treatment, and they were not aware of any," then declined further comment. The Hartford Courant reported Dodd had taken "a major credibility hit" from the scandal. At the same time, the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad and the head of Fannie Mae Jim Johnson received mortgages on favorable terms due to their association with Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and two Connecticut papers have demanded further disclosure from Dodd regarding the Mozilo loans. On June 17, 2008, Dodd met twice with reporters and gave accounts of his mortgages with Countrywide. He admitted