Shalanda Young – currently the Biden administration’s nominee to become deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – attracted key support from congressional Democrats today to become director of OMB.
Those expressions of support followed the withdrawal from consideration of President Biden’s initial nominee to head OMB, Neera Tanden.
House Dems Support Young
Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., released a joint statement recommending Young to serve as the next OMB director.
“As longtime members of the Appropriations Committee, we take great pride in recommending Shalanda Young as director of the Office of Management and Budget,” the statement says. “We have worked closely with her for several years and highly recommend her for her intellect, her deep expertise on the Federal budget, and her determination to ensure that our budget reflects our values as a nation.”
Young has quickly become a key name to take over the top OMB role and has already received support from both Democratic and Republican members of Congress who said they would vote for her as director.
Smooth Sailing in Senate
During yesterday’s Senate Budget Committee hearing for Young’s nomination as deputy director, Ranking Member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., raised the point that Young may be offered the director job, and expressed his support.
“You’ll get my support, maybe for both jobs,” Sen. Graham told Young. “Everybody that deals with you on our side has nothing but good things to say.”
Additionally, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he has “full confidence” in Young to do the job.
“I’m thinking you’re going to be running OMB,” Sen. Kennedy told Young. “You may be more than deputy.”
Young did not comment on the remarks regarding her possibly heading OMB, but she did say Tanden had “expansive knowledge of various policy areas.” She added, “we’d make a great team if both of us were confirmed.”
Tanden Bows Out
“Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities,” Tanden wrote in a letter to President Biden Tuesday night.
According to a statement, the president accepted Tanden’s request to withdraw her nomination and plans to have Tanden serve in a different role in his administration. Tanden faced criticism of her prior tweets targeting members of Congress and failed to secure enough support on either side of the aisle to clear a Senate-wide confirmation vote.
With Tanden now out of the picture, Young’s support from both Democrats and Republicans might just land her the top role at OMB.
