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Jeffrey Zients to Serve as Acting OMB Director

Jeffrey Zients will serve as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget while Jack Lew awaits confirmation to take over for OMB Director Peter Orszag, whose last day is Friday, top officials confirmed.

Zients is OMB’s deputy director for management. During the transition, Rob Nabors, who used to be Orszag’s deputy and who has been serving as senior adviser to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, will return to OMB as acting deputy director.

Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Lew is not likely to take over the job until “sometime in the fall” since there is a lot of paperwork to process related to his nomination.

“That nomination is not likely to go up prior to the August recess,” Gibbs told reporters. “We will work through [Orszag’s] last day at the end of this month, and we will work through an acting director while Jack goes through the confirmation.”

An aide to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the confirmation hearing likely will be in mid-September.

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