Obama Taps Lew For Second Stint As OMB Director

President Obama announced Tuesday he will nominate Jacob J. Lew to be the next White House budget director, a position Lew held during the Clinton administration.

If confirmed, Lew would succeed Peter R. Orszag, who is stepping down as director of the Office of Management and Budget later this month.

While Orszag's tenure has been defined by his work on the 2009 economic stimulus legislation and the recently enacted overhaul of the health care system, Lew will almost certainly focus on shrinking budget deficits projected at more than $1 trillion a year.

"The experience and good judgment Jack has acquired throughout his impressive career in the public and private sector will be an extraordinary asset to this administration's efforts to cut down the deficit and put our nation back on a fiscally responsible path," Obama said.

Lew was OMB director between 1998 and 2001 and currently serves as deputy secretary of State for management and resources, a post the White House described as chief operating officer for the department.

Obama pointed to the budget surpluses the government ran during Lew's OMB tenure, although many of the policies that contributed to those surpluses were enacted before he took over. He did, however, serve as deputy budget director during negotiations on the 1997 balanced budget deal.

"As the budget director who left the next administration a $237 billion surplus when he worked for President Clinton, I have no doubt that Jack has proven himself equal to this extraordinary task," Obama said.

The fiscal 2009 deficit was $1.4 trillion, or 9.9 percent of economic output as measured by gross domestic product. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the fiscal 2010 deficit will be $1.37 trillion, or 9.4 percent of GDP. As one of his last tasks in the job, Orszag will release updated administration deficit projections on July 23.

Republicans are expected to use the confirmation process to showcase their criticism of Democrats' fiscal policies, which they argue have led to sky-high deficits -- although the red ink began to build when the GOP controlled Congress and the White House.

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Full Episode on www.webcelebritygossip.com President Barack Obama nominated Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew to serve as administrator of the Office of Management and Budget Tuesday

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