The director of Walmart's philanthropic
foundation was Monday tapped by Barack Obama to lead the White House
budget office, as the US president worked to fill his cabinet in his
second term.
Obama also announced his picks to serve as energy secretary and
director of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sylvia Matthews Burwell would serve as director of the Office of
Management and Budget, which is tasked with presenting the
president's annual budget. The position is especially crucial as
Obama faces a series of showdowns with Congress over austerity
measures and seeks to push through his agenda.
"As the granddaughter of Greek immigrants, she also understands
that our goal when we put together a budget is not just to make the
numbers add up," Obama said in announcing the nominations at the
White House.
"Our goal is also to reignite the true engine of economic growth
in this country, and that is a strong and growing middle class, to
offer ladders of opportunity for anybody willing to climb them."
Burwell had served as deputy director of the Office of Management
and Budget during the Bill Clinton administration in the 1990s,
working as part of the team that crafted three budget surpluses. That
team also included Jack Lew, who was confirmed as Obama's new
treasury secretary last week.
Prior to taking over as president of the Walmart Foundation,
Burwell oversaw the global development efforts at the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation.
Obama also nominated Massachusetts Institute of Technology
scientist Ernest Moniz to replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu and
Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which
drafts many of the US' environmental regulations. She would replace
Lisa Jackson.
The nominees have to be confirmed by the Senate before they can
office.
