The Senate made history Tuesday by confirming the first Black woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Shalanda Young, who has been serving as the acting OMB director, will become the official director after a 61 to 36 vote in the Senate Tuesday afternoon. Her bipartisan confirmation will solidify Young’s place as President Biden’s Cabinet official and top aide on his government spending and regulation priorities.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Young’s confirmation marks “another glass ceiling shattered by a remarkable member of the President’s historic Cabinet.”
“It shouldn’t have taken this long to confirm someone as obviously qualified as Shalanda Young,” Schumer said in advance of the vote. “She’s been leading the OMB for nearly a year, she knows the budget and appropriations process like the back of her hand. She’s proven capable of working with Republicans and Democrats alike.”
Young was confirmed by the Senate a year ago on March 23, 2021, to be the deputy budget director in a 63-37 vote. The Republicans who voted against her at the time raised concerns about her opposition to the Hyde Amendment, a 1976 provision that bans federal funding for most abortions and has become a sticking point in budget negotiations under Biden.
