In a brief meeting today, the Senate Budget Committee advanced the nomination of Derek Kan to be the next deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The committee, led by Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., voted 15-6 to advance Kan’s nomination to a full vote by the Senate. Late last month, the committee held a confirmation hearing which touched on a wide array of issues, including his work on the COVID-19 task force, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements, and cutting spending to lower the deficit. Kan, who was nominated by President Trump on May 27, currently serves as OMB’s executive associate director.
During a recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Kan touched on his views on advancing IT modernization. He told legislators that OMB can help speed IT modernization in the Federal government through a change in budget scoring rules, and through pulling together best practices developed by the CIO Council.
Before working for OMB, Kan served as the under secretary of Transportation for Policy. He is also no stranger to the Senate confirmation process, having been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a director of the Amtrak Board. Kan was nominated by President Obama and served in that role from January 2016 to July 2019.
In the private sector, he has held positions at Lyft and Bain & Company. Earlier in his career, Kan was a policy advisor for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and was the chief economist for the Senate Republican Policy Committee. Prior to his time on the Hill, he was a Presidential Management Fellow at OMB.
