President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated Shalanda Young to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position that has gone unfilled for months.
Young has served as acting budget director since March, but she would now officially step into the role as the Biden administration works to implement its economic agenda. That includes a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and a more than $1 trillion infrastructure plan, with the possibility of a $1.7 trillion social safety net and climate change package being passed by Congress in the coming weeks.
"The Office of Management and Budget has been called the nerve center of our government," Biden said in a video announcement. "This is an agency that not only helps me create the budget, but also makes sure that your tax dollars are spent efficiently and effectively."
Young, a longtime veteran of the House Appropriations Committee, was confirmed as deputy director of the OMB earlier this year in a bipartisan 63-37 vote. If she is confirmed again by the Senate, Young will become the first Black woman to lead the office.
Young had been serving as acting director after Biden's initial choice to lead the agency, Neera Tanden, was withdrawn over past comments she made on Twitter criticizing Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. Tanden now serves as White House staff secretary, which does not require Senate confirmation.
Biden said Young "has continued to impress me and congressional leaders as well" in her eight months as acting director.
The president said he would also nominate Nani Coloretti as deputy director of OMB; Coloretti currently is senior vice president for financial and business strategy at the Urban Institute and served in the Obama administration. Biden said Coloretti would be one of the most senior Asian Americans in government.
In the video announcement, Biden said that both Young and Coloretti have been confirmed before with bipartisan support and urged the Senate to "swiftly confirm them again so they can lead OMB at this important time."
