(CNN)Shalanda Young on Tuesday became the first black woman to head the White House budget office after the Senate confirmed her to the cabinet-level position with bipartisan support. The vote was 61-36.
Young has served as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget for the past year. She was confirmed as deputy director by the Senate last March and rose to the top position after Neera Tanden’s nomination was withdrawn because Tanden did not have enough Senate support. Nearly nine months after Tanden’s nomination was withdrawn, Biden officially nominated Young for director.
“Another glass ceiling shattered by a notable member of the President’s historic cabinet,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said of Young in a speech in the Senate Monday before the vote.
Schumer said, “It shouldn’t have taken this long to confirm someone who is so obviously as qualified as Shalanda Young. She has been leading the OMB for almost a year. She knows the budget and appropriation procedures like the back of her hand. She has proven able to work with Republicans and Democrats alike. And through her leadership, the government has achieved some of its greatest victories, including passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.”
When Tanden’s nomination fell through last year, many Democrats on Capitol Hill pushed for Young to get the top job. The Congressional Black Caucus sided with Young for the job in the Biden administration, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her entire Democratic House leadership team.
Young was the first black woman to serve as staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, and received bipartisan praise for her work in the role. She worked on the board for more than 14 years and took over as HR manager in 2017.
The key office, which oversees all budget development and execution and has significant influence over the president’s agenda, has been without a Senate-approved head since the president took office last January. It was the last cabinet-level post to remain vacant.
Some experts criticized the delay in appointing an official director, arguing that while acting directors can still perform the full range of official duties, they lack the full weight of the permanent title. In addition to budget development and execution, the OMB reviews a number of policies and rules across the federal government.
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