Biden to nominate Nani Coloretti, Cal graduate and former Newsom adviser, as budget deputy director

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden will nominate Nani Coloretti to serve as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget after elevating Shalanda Young to serve as the agency's permanent director, according to sources familiar with the decision.

Coloretti's career in government started in San Francisco working as a policy adviser and budget director for then-Mayor Gavin Newsom. She is also a graduate of the Goldman School of Public Policy at Cal.

If confirmed by the Senate, Coloretti would be one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in the administration. She served as deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration and is of Filipino descent.

Many Asian American leaders are frustrated by the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in Biden's Cabinet and were pushing for Coloretti to get the top spot at the agency.

Young and Coloretti, both women of color, will run an incredibly powerful part of the federal government if confirmed by the Senate. OMB oversees all budget development and execution and has significant influence over the President's agenda.

The White House declined to comment.

Young has been serving as OMB's acting director since March after the White House pulled Neera Tanden's nomination for the role because she didn't have enough support in the Senate. Young has been on parental leave after having a baby last month. Tanden is now serving as White House staff secretary.

The lack of a permanent director at the agency had become more noticeable as Democrats look to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the centerpiece of Biden's domestic agenda -- a potentially multi-trillion dollar package to expand the nation's social safety net.

If that legislation is passed by Congress, the OMB director would play a key role in implementing the economic agenda. The director will also serve as a senior adviser to the President on the economy and will be primarily responsible for producing Biden's annual budget request.

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