WASHINGTON — Five years ago, Jeffrey D. Zients was the head of the Obama administration’s National Economic Council, working to push across the finish line a federal rule that would prevent financial advisers from taking advantage of retirees. He won praise from progressives for fending off fierce resistance from Wall Street and for fighting for consumer protections.

These days, Mr. Zients is a co-chairman of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s transition team who is being watched warily by members of Democratic Party’s left wing. Progressive advocacy groups such as the Revolving Door Project and Justice Democrats, concerned that he would defend corporate America if given a top economic policy job in the Biden administration, pushed to keep him out of such a role. They view his recent work running an investment fund — Cranemere — and sitting on the board of Facebook as a detriment.

In a sign of the pushback to come, the Revolving Door Project has been urging Mr. Biden to keep corporate influence out of his administration, has compiled a 13-page document about Mr. Zients. The file highlights his wealth, his appetite for deficit reduction during the Obama years and his recent work as chief executive of Cranemere.

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