Kamala Harris swears in 1st Black woman as WH budget chief

Washington, March 18

US Vice President Kamala Harris has sworn in Shalanda Young as chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), making her the first Black woman in the country's history to assume the position.

Thursday's swearing in came two days after the Senate confirmed Young to serve as the director of the OMB with a vote of 61 to 36, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nearly a year ago, Young was confirmed as deputy director of the OMB, and began serving as the acting chief of the agency after Indian-origin Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination for budget chief amid opposition from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Young began working at the House Appropriations Committee in 2007, and later served as Democratic staff director, becoming the first Black woman to serve as the committee's majority staff director.

Her experience includes strenuous negotiations over the annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government.

"Not only is she eminently qualified to lead the OMB and as knowledgeable as anyone about the Congressional appropriations process, Shalanda also maintains strong and positive relationships on both sides of the aisle," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement earlier this week.

"She deserves great credit for helping to lead the successful effort to enact the Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus this week, a major step forward for our country," said the Democratic leader.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022 to fund the federal government through the end of September.

The bill, which was approved by Congress last week, includes $730 billion in non-defence funding and $782 billion in defence funding.