Washington, March 18: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday swore in Shalanda Young as chief of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), making her the first Black woman in history to assume that role. The ceremony came two days after the Senate confirmed Young to serve as the director of the OMB with a vote of 61 to 36.
Nearly a year ago, Young was confirmed as deputy director of the OMB, and began serving as the acting chief of the agency after Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination for budget chief amid opposition from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Xinhua reports. Young began working at the House Appropriations Committee in 2007, and later served as Democratic staff director, becoming the first Black woman to serve as the committee’s majority staff director.
Her experience includes strenuous negotiations over the annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government. “Not only is she eminently qualified to lead the OMB and as knowledgeable as anyone about the Congressional appropriations process, Shalanda also maintains strong and positive relationships on both sides of the aisle,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement earlier this week. “She deserves great credit for helping to lead the successful effort to enact the Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus this week, a major step forward for our country,” said the Democratic leader. US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a 1.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022 to fund the federal government through the end of September. The bill, which was approved by Congress last week, includes 730 billion dollars in non-defense funding and 782 billion dollars in defense funding.
UNI
