Office of Management and Budget

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It helps the president carry out his plans across the whole executive branch.

In 1921, Congress created the Bureau of the Budget to help the president prepare his budget. This budget would then go to the House of Representatives to be approved or rejected, as described in Article One of the Constitution. Later, in 1970, President Richard Nixon reorganized this bureau into what we now call the OMB. This change made the OMB report directly to the president and gave it more power.

Although it started as a neutral, analytical group, the OMB became one of the most powerful parts of the president’s team. Each president since then has added more duties and power to the OMB. In response, in 1974, Congress created its own budget office, called the Congressional Budget Office, and passed laws to limit some of the president’s control over money.

Today, Russell Vought serves as the director of the OMB. He was appointed by Donald Trump in February 2025.

History

The Bureau of the Budget, which later became the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), was created in 1921 by law under President Warren G. Harding. It helped the president plan the government’s spending.

In 1970, during President Nixon’s time in office, the Bureau was reorganized into the OMB. This new office reported directly to the president.

Purpose

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) helps the president create a budget proposal for Congress and watches over how government agencies use their money and follow rules. It checks if agency programs work well, decides how money should be spent, and makes sure everything matches the president's plans.

OMB also helps manage how the government buys things, handles money, uses technology, and makes rules. Its job is to make these processes better, create good ways to measure success, and cut down on extra work for everyone.

OMB’s main jobs are:

1. Creating and carrying out the budget, a big process led by the Executive Office of the President that helps the president put policies and priorities into action across places like the Department of Defense and NASA.
2. Handling other agencies’ money, paperwork, and technology.

Structure

Overview

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is led mostly by staff members who stay in their jobs even when new leaders take over in the White House. There are six important jobs in OMB that are chosen by the president and approved by the Senate. These jobs include the director and several administrators of special offices.

OMB has five main groups that help manage money and resources for different parts of the government. These groups review budget requests from agencies, help decide what money gets sent to Congress, and give advice on many programs. They also check new rules and laws to make sure they fit with the president’s plans.

Other parts of OMB support the whole office. They help with legal matters, talking to Congress, and putting together the president’s budget each February. One part, called the Budget Review Division, works on the technical side of preparing the budget. Another part, the Legislative Reference Division, helps manage proposed laws and gives advice to the president about whether to sign bills into law.

Role in the executive budget process

OMB plays a big job in making the president’s budget. It gives instructions to government agencies about how to prepare their budget requests. In July, OMB sends out a circular called A-11 with rules for submitting budget proposals. Agencies send their ideas by September. Then OMB staff talk with agency leaders to make sure the plans match the president’s goals. By February, the president reviews the final budget and sends it to Congress.

If Congress does not pass a budget, the government can shut down. That means federal workers cannot get paid, buildings may close, and important programs can stop.

Suspension and debarment

An important committee at OMB helps watch over rules for removing people or companies from working with the government. This was set up by a president in 1986 to make sure everyone follows the same rules.

Circulars

OMB sends out special instructions called circulars to guide government agencies. One important circular, called A-119, talks about using common standards that many industries follow. This helps agencies use the same rules for things like environment, energy, safety, and health.

Organization

OMB is led by a director and has many different offices to help with jobs like legal work, talking to Congress, and managing money. There are also offices that focus on special areas like health, education, and national security.

Current appointees

Some of the top leaders in OMB today include Russell Vought as the director and Dan Bishop as the deputy director. Other important jobs are held by people like Mark Paoletta as General Counsel and Jeffrey Clark as the acting administrator of one office.

List of directors

List of OMB directors.

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Charles Dawes	June 23, 1921	June 30, 1922		Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
	Herbert Lord	July 1, 1922	May 31, 1929
					Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
					Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
	Clawson Roop	August 15, 1929	March 3, 1933
	Lewis Douglas	March 7, 1933	August 31, 1934		Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
	Daniel Bell	September 1, 1934	April 14, 1939
	Harold Smith	April 15, 1939	June 19, 1946
					Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
	James Webb	July 13, 1946	January 27, 1949
	Frank Pace	February 1, 1949	April 12, 1950
	Fred Lawton	April 13, 1950	January 21, 1953
	Joseph Dodge	January 22, 1953	April 15, 1954		Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
	Rowland Hughes	April 16, 1954	April 1, 1956
	Percival Brundage	April 2, 1956	March 17, 1958
	Maurice Stans	March 18, 1958	January 21, 1961
	David Bell	January 22, 1961	December 20, 1962		John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
	Kermit Gordon	December 28, 1962	June 1, 1965
					Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
	Charles Schultze	June 1, 1965	January 28, 1968
	Charles Zwick	January 29, 1968	January 21, 1969
	Bob Mayo	January 22, 1969	June 30, 1970		Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
	George Shultz	July 1, 1970	June 11, 1972
	Caspar Weinberger	June 12, 1972	February 1, 1973
	Roy Ash	February 2, 1973	February 3, 1975
					Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
	James Lynn	February 10, 1975	January 20, 1977
	Bert Lance	January 21, 1977	September 23, 1977		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
	Jim McIntyre	September 24, 1977	January 20, 1981
	David Stockman	January 21, 1981	August 1, 1985		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
	Jim Miller	October 8, 1985	October 15, 1988
	Joe Wright	October 16, 1988	January 20, 1989
	Dick Darman	January 25, 1989	January 20, 1993		George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
	Leon Panetta	January 21, 1993	July 17, 1994		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
	Alice Rivlin	October 17, 1994	April 26, 1996
	Frank Raines	September 13, 1996	May 21, 1998
	Jack Lew	May 21, 1998	January 19, 2001
	Mitch Daniels	January 23, 2001	June 6, 2003		George W. Bush (2001–2009)
	Josh Bolten	June 6, 2003	April 15, 2006
	Rob Portman	May 26, 2006	June 19, 2007
	Jim Nussle	September 4, 2007	January 20, 2009
	Peter Orszag	January 20, 2009	July 30, 2010		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
	Jeff Zients Acting	July 30, 2010	November 18, 2010
	Jack Lew	November 18, 2010	January 27, 2012
	Jeff Zients Acting	January 27, 2012	April 24, 2013
	Sylvia Mathews Burwell	April 24, 2013	June 9, 2014
	Brian Deese Acting	June 9, 2014	July 28, 2014
	Shaun Donovan	July 28, 2014	January 20, 2017
	Mark Sandy Acting	January 20, 2017	February 16, 2017		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
	Mick Mulvaney	February 16, 2017	March 31, 2020 On leave: January 2, 2019 – March 31, 2020
	Russ Vought	January 2, 2019	July 22, 2020
		July 22, 2020	January 20, 2021
	Rob Fairweather Acting	January 20, 2021	March 24, 2021		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
	Shalanda Young	March 24, 2021	March 17, 2022
		March 17, 2022	January 20, 2025
	Matthew Vaeth Acting	January 20, 2025	February 7, 2025		Donald Trump (2025–present)
	Russ Vought	February 7, 2025	Incumbent