For top budget job, Biden hesitates at naming a candidate who has bipartisan support

[Celerity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-young-omb-budget-tanden/2021/03/05/f7c39ba4-7dcb-11eb-85cd-9b7fa90c8873_story.html



As the White House seeks to fill a critical vacancy, there’s a clear public front-runner to be President Biden’s budget chief: Shalanda Young, a widely respected former congressional aide who has been endorsed by Democrats and Republicans, and who would make history as the first woman of color to lead the Office of Management and Budget. But after wasting weeks backing a candidate who had limited political support, the Biden administration is now hesitating in naming someone with nearly universal support. Meanwhile, advocates for racial diversity are pressuring the White House to look beyond old hands such as Gene Sperling, who would add little in the way of diversity to a West Wing filled with White male policy advisers. Young, who is Black, is backed by a powerful mix of allies, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the Congressional Black Caucus and some prominent conservative Republicans.

But her prospects appear to be colliding with the Biden team’s resistance to public pressure for high-level posts, for which the president has often tapped allies and other known commodities. People close to the White House say some aides have been turned off by the overt campaigning on Young’s behalf, which began before the White House formally withdrew the nomination of Neera Tanden earlier this week. At the same time, the White House is grappling with concerns about racial diversity in senior administration positions, as Tanden was one of just two Asian Americans nominated for Cabinet-level jobs. Even though Young — like Tanden — would be a historic pick, the relatively paltry Asian American representation in the Biden Cabinet is increasingly infuriating lawmakers and advocates who worry that their community is being left behind in an administration that has proudly touted the most diverse Cabinet in history.

“We’re extremely frustrated to see a lack of Asian American representation at high levels in this administration,” said John Yang, the president and executive director of the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “On one level, we are happy about the administration’s efforts at diversity elsewhere, and they are clearly nominating people that are very qualified.” Yang continued, “Likewise, there are many Asian Americans who are very qualified.” Though mostly obscure outside Washington, the OMB job shows how dynamics such as personal loyalty, ideological diversity and a commitment to racial representation can end up competing with one another in an administration that prizes all three of those goals. It is a separate agency, but the OMB is often seen as a direct extension of the White House. The OMB is also facing a critical juncture, particularly with a massive coronavirus relief package on the verge of approval and a presidential budget to draft.

White House officials initially discussed releasing a budget this month, which would have been later than usual, but now Democrats think it could come as late as April or May, according to two people familiar with the discussions, who spoke about the private talks on the condition of anonymity. That would be a significant delay and a setback for an administration trying to leave its stamp on the federal budget. Biden’s OMB officials were slowed down by their predecessors’ refusal to turn documents over during the transition. Among people mentioned for the role are Sperling, the former economic director in the Clinton and Obama administrations and a favorite of liberals, and Ann O’Leary, a former top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) who is an ally of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Others floated for the job include Sarah Bianchi, a longtime Biden policy aide, and Sonal Shah, an Obama alum who was policy director on Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. Shah, who is Indian American, is being promoted by Asian American and Pacific Islander groups that are raising alarms about the lack of representation in the Cabinet. The White House has signaled that a permanent nominee to lead the OMB could be some time away.

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[Deminpenn]

1. She appears to be as eminently qualified

for the top job as she is for the deputy OMB job for which she has been nominated.

[OnDoutside]

2. How does she have support of conservative republicans ?