- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Shalanda Young
Shalanda Young
Former Office of Management and Budget Director
Winter-Spring 2025 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “Can He Actually Do That? Decoding D.C. Through Budget & Regulations Processes”
Biography
Shalanda Young is the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget - the first Black woman to the lead the agency. In this role, she serves as a Member of President Biden’s Cabinet, National Security Council, and Core Economic team. She manages the Federal Government’s annual $7 trillion budget, covering expenditures ranging from Medicare to national security. She has worked to secure assistance for Ukraine, relief for communities impacted by natural disasters, and investments in childcare, education, and public health. Young was also a lead negotiator for the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 that averted a first-ever debt default and lifted the Nation’s debt ceiling. She led the development of all four of President Biden’s budgets and presented them before Congress each year. She also oversees the Federal Government’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is critical in the federal regulation-making process. In addition to the federal budget and regulatory agenda, Young oversees the many management challenges facing the US government. Young issued the two government-wide AI memorandums advancing governance and innovation and setting procurement guidelines for agencies.
Previously, Young worked for the House Appropriations Committee for nearly 15 years, rising to lead the Committee as the Staff Director. The Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful in Congress, is responsible for funding nearly every government agency and setting priorities across each of the programs funded through annual spending bills.
Young has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University New Orleans and a Master of Health Administration from Tulane University.
Seminars
“Can He Actually Do That? Decoding D.C. Through Budget & Regulations Processes”
While Presidents submit budget requests, blue ribbon commissions suggest cuts and lobbying groups clamor for their piece of the federal pie. Only one branch of government – Congress – actually has the power of the proverbial purse and constitutional authority “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.” A select few among them – appropriators – hold most of the power, and even fewer people in D.C. know the secrets to spending deals. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Biden, is among them. Come for lessons in “mandatory” versus “discretionary” spending, stay for behind-the-scenes tales of late-night debt ceiling negotiations – for which members of both parties credited her greatly for coming to a deal – from this advisor who labored for years under Nancy Pelosi as the staff director on House appropriations. Be prepared to pitch your program for funding, and see firsthand the supreme challenge in it all.
Let me tell you about the twists and turns that led me to the byzantine world of appropriations and finally to the job the members of both parties supported me in getting. How was I able to navigate the shoals of partisan affrays, and what were some of my biggest lessons? What is the art of the possible in the Congress and White House, how might Trump attempt to erode article two and why would that be bad – or not?
President Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head up the new Department of Government Efficiency – which is not precisely a department at all – designed to advise him on cuts to government spending and regulations. This is also in many ways a normal goal for new Republican majorities. They often fail.
So, what if Congress disagrees with the DOGE? What is OMB’s relationship to the DOGE? Will Trump resort to impoundment – when the president chooses not to spend the money Congress tells him to – or via some other method to undo their will?
Spoiler, it’s not a restoration of partisan relations. Now that Republicans have taken control of Congress, they aim to use a maneuver called "reconciliation" to achieve President Trump’s major tax-cutting, tariff-adding and border-securing goals over the opposition of Senate Democrats. How is this the same or different from when Congress used the same method to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, and what can go right or wrong for Republicans here?
So, you want to fund your favorite program? Come with a program in mind to pitch to our guests – key Senate staffers who help guide appropriations priorities.
Special Guests (via Zoom): Reema Dodin, Chief of Staff for Senator Brian Schatz & Kelly Heaton, Senior Policy Advisor for Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Former Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry and I disagree on many policies. But, we led a bipartisan negotiation to avoid the first ever default of the United States. We will discuss our positions together and how to create space to find compromise.
Special Guest (via Zoom): former Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
This is what I am known for. Here are some key elements to negotiating with Republicans and the United States Senate. Expect surprises: often the Senate Democrats were more difficult to negotiate with than House Republicans!
OMB is the clearing house for every major regulatory agency in the federal government. So, how does deregulation work, practically, why do Republicans like it, when do Democrats agree or disagree with it and what does that have to do with the budget process?
Special Guest: Richard Revesz, AnBryce Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at New York University School of Law & former Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
We have spent the last few months learning about arcane Senate rules, negotiation techniques, partisan playbooks and general budget arcana. Now it’s time to get your appropriation amendment (or bill) to the floor.