According to a source familiar with the situation, President Biden intends to propose Shalanda Young, the interim head of the Office of Management and Budget, to be the agency’s permanent leader on Wednesday, following months without a permanent leader.
This comes at a crucial moment for the agency, which manages the federal budget and defines a wide range of rules. Ms. Young, who has served as temporary head since the spring, would formally assume the reins. Additionally, the government plans to quickly enact a more than $2 trillion social-spending package, which will be a cornerstone of the president’s economic programme. The administration has already implemented a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and a $1 trillion infrastructure measure.
It has been vacant for months as one of the few high-level positions available in the administration since the White House withdrew its initial pick for budget director, Neera Tanden, in March after she drew widespread bipartisan criticism, in part because of vitriolic tweets directed at members of Congress from both parties.
Members of Congress and administration officials, on the other hand, have depicted Ms. Young as having sufficient support from both Democrats and Republicans to be confirmed by the Senate, and some members of Congress have advocated for her nomination. Ms. Young, who would be the first African-American woman to occupy the position, will continue to serve as interim director until her appointment is confirmed, according to a source familiar with the situation.
She previously worked as staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, where she played key roles in shaping annual spending bills as well as a series of five pandemic relief packages totaling $3 trillion, which served as the centrepiece of the federal government’s emergency response to the pandemic. Ms. Young was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the office’s deputy in March, 63 to 37.
Even though she gained the support of both Democrats and Republicans during her time on Capitol Hill, several Republicans were critical of her statements during her confirmation process to be the deputy budget director. Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, questioned her opinion on removing the so-called Hyde amendment from federal budget legislation, which forbids government funding from being used to support most abortions.
In March, however, thirteen Republicans voted in favour of her appointment to the deputy post, and at her confirmation hearing, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, presented her. She was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee in 2007 and has served on the committee since.
It is anticipated how she will play a key role in the composition of the administration’s economic plans, which will include the social policy package, a sprawling bill that Democrats are attempting to push through Congress with the goal of combating climate change, promoting economic opportunity for workers, and supporting families. In addition, the office plays a key role in determining the budgets for each federal department.
Mrs. Tanden, a former key strategist to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, was denied nomination to the Senate, which was one of the Biden administration’s first political miscalculations, according to several analysts. The White House nominated her before Democrats took control of the Senate, despite widespread condemnation of her tweets and work at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think organisation, from both Democratic and Republican members of Congress.
Following a statement by Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, to the White House stating that she would not vote for Ms. Tanden, the president and Ms. Tanden reached an agreement to withdraw her candidacy.
Ms. Tanden is working as White House staff secretary, a job that is rarely known but has significant influence since it places her at the heart of information flow between the president and his top aides.
