CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – BUDGET Jan. 17, 2012 – 4:38 p.m. Zients Appointed to Serve as Acting OMB Director in Lew’s Absence By Paul M. Krawzak, CQ Staff

Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management and chief performance officer at the Office of Management and Budget, was named Tuesday to serve as the agency’s acting director when Jacob J. Lew leaves to become White House chief of staff.

In making the appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, President Obama passed over Heather A. Higginbottom, the deputy director of OMB. Higginbottom has been sharply criticized by Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, and other Republicans as lacking budget experience. As deputy director, Higginbottom is more directly involved in federal budget issues, while Zients serves in a broader management role.

Obama praised Zients, saying in a written statement that he “has demonstrated superb judgment and has provided sound advice on a whole host of issues. With decades of experience, Jeff has been a tremendous asset to our team and I’m confident in his ability to help us rebuild an economy where hard work and responsibility pay off and the middle class has a chance to get ahead.”

Zients has served as deputy director for management at OMB since his Senate confirmation in June 2009. Obama asked Zients in January 2011 to lead a government reorganization effort. It saw its first major initiative last week, when Obama asked Congress to reinstate presidential authority to reorganize and consolidate the federal government, beginning with business- and trade-related agencies.

Unlike Higginbottom, Zients has experience running OMB in the director’s absence. Zients served as acting director from July to November 2010 after then-Director Peter R. Orszag departed and while Lew was awaiting confirmation as his successor.

Higginbottom has served as deputy director since her confirmation to the post in October 2011.

A former Democratic congressional aide and budget expert said Zients’ appointment sends a “strong message” that the White House is serious about its government reorganization initiative.

The former aide also said Zients is a “good fit for a governing strategy that focuses on what they can do administratively because they assume not much will happen legislatively.”

The Obama administration has said Lew will remain at OMB through the completion of the fiscal 2013 budget, due for release Feb. 6. Another budget expert with close ties to Congress said he had heard over the weekend that Lew would remain to testify on the budget before the House and Senate budget committees after the spending plan is unveiled. The administration has not confirmed this.

The appointment leaves open the question of whom the president will nominate to replace Lew, and when. Possible candidates include , the president’s assistant for legislative affairs; , director of the National Economic Council (NEC); , deputy director for domestic affairs at the NEC; Robert D. Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and a former Congressional Budget Office director; and Ann M. Fudge, former chief executive of Young & Rubicam and a member of the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in 2010.

Zients earlier served as CEO and chairman of The Advisory Board Co. and chairman of the Corporate Executive Board, firms that provide performance benchmarking and management best practices for senior executives.

He also cofounded The Urban Alliance Foundation, a nonprofit that partners with corporations to provide economically disadvantaged youth with year-round paid internships, adult mentors and job training.

Zients graduated summa cum laude from with a degree in political science.

A version of this article appeared in the Jan. 18, 2012 print issue of CQ Today Source: CQ Today Online News Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol Hill. © 2012 CQ Roll Call All Rights Reserved.