Zients’s move to new position delayed

Jeffrey Zients, who is leading the team overseeing repairs to HealthCare.gov, is delaying his move to be director of the National Economic Council by a month, according to a White House official. 

The New York Times reported Zients wants more time to prepare for the economic council position after focusing on the healthcare website for the last few months. 

The administration picked Zients to lead the repairs in October. 

{mosads}Gene Sperling, the current head of the economic council, will also stay in place until Zients moves over. Sperling was slated to end his tenure with the administration on Jan. 1. 

The new development is not a sign of further trouble with the federal healthcare exchange website, which has improved since the botched rollout in October, administration officials told the newspaper. 

Earlier this month, the White House announced it would appoint a permanent replacement to Zients to oversee the healthcare rollout once he moves over after urging from Senate Democrats. 

Zients has previously served as the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget and had been brought in to help with other projects during Obama’s first term, including the Cash for Clunkers auto rebate program and an effort to speed up delayed GI Bill payments. 

Sperling, who has served in the administration for three years, will stay on until at least February to help with the State of the Union address, the budget outline and Zients’s transition.