OMB Transitions

Today, President Obama announced that following my departure from OMB next month to become his Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients will serve as Acting Director. With Jeff serving as Acting Director and Heather Higginbottom continuing her excellent work as Deputy Director, OMB will have strong continuity of leadership.

Jeff returns to the role of Acting Director after serving ably in that role from July to November in 2010. In his nearly three years at OMB, Jeff has worked closely with agencies to cut waste and make government more efficient and effective for the American people, developing deep knowledge of the federal government, and applying lessons learned from his private sector experience to save taxpayer dollars.

Having worked at the highest levels of policymaking in the legislative and executive branches for over a decade, Heather has been an invaluable addition to the team, working closely with me and the OMB staff on the budget these past months.

With Jeff and Heather at the helm, I am confident OMB will continue to serve the President and the American taxpayers well. Departing OMB next month will be bittersweet. It has been a privilege to return to such a vital institution and serve beside such talented and dedicated public servants at a time when their expertise was called upon again and again. I am honored for the opportunity to continue to serve this President as his Chief of Staff, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with my colleagues at OMB in that role as we continue to move forward the President’s agenda.

Jack Lew is Director of the Office of Management and Budget