Skip to content

OMB Targets Feb 12

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the intent to release the Administration’s FY 2019 President’s Budget Request to Congress on February 12. Incidentally, that date is the Monday following the date set for the the expiration of recent CR passed earlier this week.

The release was slightly delayed because of time lost during the recent three-day government shutdown. The budget is legally required the first Monday of February, but this and past Administrations have missed the deadline. This will be the second budget by the Trump Administration.

Senate to Take Up HHS Nomination

The full Senate is scheduled to take up today the nomination of Alex Azar to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Azar is not a new-comer to the HHS as he served as Deputy Secretary during the George W. Bush Administration.  He has recently been an executive at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co.

HHS funds and oversees a host of health-related and biomedical agencies and research programs.  The National Institutes of Health is part of HHS.

Azar was nominated to replace former Secretary Tom Price, who resigned last year.

 

New Nominee to Lead HHS Named

The Trump Administration announced today that it intends to nominate Alex Azar as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Azar served at HHS under the George W. Bush Administration from 2001 to 2007, first as general counsel and deputy secretary.  He served in senior leadership roles at Lilly USA between 2007 and late 2016.

Read more here and here.

The first HHS Secretary in the Trump Administration, Tom Price, resigned earlier this fall due to the fallout over his use of chartered flights.

New NOAA Administrator Nominee Named

Yesterday, the White House announced the President’s intent to nominate Barry Myers as Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere at the Department of Commerce.  Myers has served at the CEO of AccuWeather since 2007.

Read more about the nomination here and here.

ED’s COO of Finanical Aid Quits

Tuesday night, James Runcie, chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid, quit \over what he said were simmering management problems at the agency that culminated in a dispute with DeVos over her insistence that he testify Wednesday before a congressional oversight panel.

Politico has the story.