Burwell Nominated for OMB Director

In a move that had been anticipated for a while, the Obama Administration has nominated Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be the next OMB director. Jeff Zients had been serving as acting director since early last year, when current Treasury Secretary Jack Lew filled the President's chief of staff role.

Burwell previously served as deputy OMB director in the late 1990s and early 2000s under Lew's first go-round as director. She also had numerous other policy-related and economic-related positions in the Clinton Administration. In the intervening 12 years since she left OMB, she served in the Gates Foundation for a decade and more recently as president of the Wal-Mart Foundation for a year and a half.

Burwell's prior experience with budgetary matters will be very useful as the Administration and Congress look to come to an agreement to reduce the deficit. Assuming that she is confirmed, we wish her luck as director.