Veteran GOP aide gets nod for a top slot in Trump’s budget office
Eric Ueland served in senior roles in Senate GOP leadership and during the first Trump administration
President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated veteran Senate and White House aide Eric Ueland to the top management post at the White House budget office.
If confirmed by the Senate, Ueland would serve as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget. That is one of the top three posts at the agency, along with deputy director, serving under OMB Director Russ Vought.
Former Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., nominated as deputy director of OMB by Trump, faces a Senate Budget Committee vote on his nomination Wednesday. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved his nomination in February.
Ueland held several positions in the first Trump administration, including as undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights and director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance, both in the State Department; deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council and legislative affairs director.
He was a constant presence on Capitol Hill during negotiations on the massive $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package enacted in March 2020, along with then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Prior to that, during more than two decades as a top Senate Republican aide, he built a reputation as an effective strategist for conservative legislative efforts, with a knack for using the Senate’s rules to achieve the majority’s goals.
Ueland served as GOP staff director of the Senate Budget Committee for four years under then-Chairman Michael B. Enzi, R-Wyo., stepping down from that position in late 2017.
He served a brief stint as senior strategy officer for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent agency, before going to the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance in late 2018.
Earlier, he spent a decade working for then-GOP Whip Don Nickles of Oklahoma and then-Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. He left the Hill after Frist’s retirement, which coincided with Democrats retaking the Senate after the 2006 midterms.
The Portland, Ore., native has wide connections on the Hill. He helped shepherd Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary through the Senate, accompanying Hegseth during meetings with senators, at a time when many observers saw little chance that Hegseth would win confirmation.
Ueland is currently serving as acting chief of staff at OMB.
