Ex-Newsom official drops out of running for OMB director

A former aide to Hillary Clinton who recently served as chief of staff for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will not join the Biden administration amid speculation she could be the next nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Ann O’Leary, whose name was circulated in February as a potential replacement for Neera Tanden when her nomination was in jeopardy, announced Monday she will join the law firm Jenner & Block, as well as teaching a course at Stanford University and working as a fellow at The Century Foundation.

O’Leary, who announced the moves in a Medium post, acknowledged talk that she was in the running for a role in the Biden administration.

“While it is true that public service is in my veins and I would love to serve my country again at the federal level, where I have landed is exactly where I should be right now,” O’Leary wrote.

“I have deep personal and professional respect for President Biden, Vice President Harris and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain who have built a Cabinet and a Senior White House team that is incredibly diverse and is filled with people who have strong expertise in federal government service to tackle the extraordinary challenges our country is facing,” she said.

The announcement takes O’Leary out of the running to lead OMB as the White House has remained tight-lipped about a timeline for announcing Tanden’s replacement. Politico reported in late February that O’Leary had privately voiced her belief that she would be qualified for the job should Tanden’s nomination falter.

Tanden withdrew from consideration earlier this month after her path to confirmation appeared blocked, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joining nearly every Republican in signaling his opposition.

With O’Leary out of consideration, focus will likely return to Shalanda Young for the job. She is expected to be confirmed in the coming days as deputy OMB director, and White House officials have said she will be elevated to acting director once that happens.

Young spent the past 14 years as a staffer on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, most recently in the top post of staff director. Young would be the first woman of color to lead OMB if nominated and confirmed.

Top congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have voiced their support for Young should she be nominated for the top job at OMB.

Sources indicated Young is the favorite to get the job, but the Biden administration is facing pressure from lawmakers and outside groups to consider an Asian American or Pacific Islander for the role to boost representation in the administration.

With the withdrawal of Tanden, who is Indian American, the lone Asian American Cabinet official is U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Shootings last week in Atlanta that left several Asian women dead renewed the focus on representation of Asian Americans in the government.