The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Shalanda Young as the White House’s deputy budget director, even as plans to fill the top spot remain on hold.
Young, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, was confirmed by a vote of 63-37.
Many Republicans who initially supported Young’s confirmation as the No. 2 at the Office of Management and Budget withdrew their support after an initial round of confirmation hearings, citing objections to her support for repealing the Hyde Amendment in her written responses.
The Hyde Amendment bars government funds from being used for abortions.
Young’s confirmation comes as the White House struggles to name a nominee to fill the top budget spot, which plays a central role in overseeing the executive branch.
Its original nominee, Neera Tanden, withdrew her nomination after losing support from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and several key Republicans, who said her previous tweets about both Republicans and progressives were disqualifying. Tanden’s defenders cried foul, arguing Republicans repeatedly turned a blind eye to tweets from former President Trump, who had a penchant for personal attacks both on and off social media.
Since Tanden’s withdrawal, top House Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have made a public push for Biden to offer Young the top budget job. She would be the first African American woman in the position.
But while she is expected to serve as acting director following her confirmation, Biden has been slow to name a new nominee.
Gene Sperling, a former director of the National Economic Council, had been floated for the job. Biden instead offered him a position in the administration overseeing the implementation of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief law signed earlier in the month.
Ann O’Leary, another potential nominee who was most recently chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), took herself out of the running earlier this week.
Some Asian American groups are making a push for Biden to pick Nani Coloretti, who was deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration and is of Filipino descent.