Bernie Sanders reeled in the endorsement of a prominent cabinet official from the Clinton years on Friday.
Robert Reich, who served as Bill Clinton's secretary of labor, announced on Twitter that he was throwing his support behind the Vermont independent senator rather than Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
In a Facebook post explaining the decision, Reich said Sanders was leading a "political mobilization" that would "get the nation back from the moneyed interests" that control the political system.
"I have the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, and if she wins the Democratic primary I’ll work my heart out to help her become president," Reich wrote. "But I believe Bernie Sanders is the agent of change this nation so desperately needs."
Reich is now a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a prolific author of lefty economic policy books, most recently Saving Capitalism. He also co-created the popular documentary "Inequality for All."
As secretary of labor, Reich oversaw a series of minimum-wage increases that were signed into law by Clinton. He later served on Barack Obama's economic transition team after the 2008 presidential election.
Reich's endorsement of Sanders may sting a bit for the Clinton camp, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. Anyone who follows Reich on Twitter or reads his frequent Facebook posts should know that he's shown a lot of affection for Sanders' economic policies.
Nor is this the first time he's broken with the Clintons politically. Back in 2008, Reich backed Obama over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Reich wrote at the time that "although Hillary Clinton has offered solid and sensible policy proposals, Obama's strike me as even more so."
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