The White House said Monday it hopes to release President Biden’s top-line budget request for fiscal 2022 “soon” and partly blamed the outgoing Trump administration for the delay.
“We dealt with some impactful intransigence from the outgoing political appointees,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “We had some cooperation from the career staff, but we didn’t have all the information that we needed.”
She also noted the Senate hasn’t confirmed a director to the Office of Management and Budget after Mr. Biden’s initial pick, Neera Tanden, was forced to withdraw in the face of Capitol Hill opposition.
“We have now an acting budget director [in Shalanda Young], which is an important step forward,” Ms. Psaki said.
Congressional Republicans are needling Mr. Biden over delays in releasing the so-called “skinny budget” with spending demands.
Presidents typically put out a budget outline by mid-March, and Mr. Biden’s version had been anticipated within the past two weeks.
“It’s kind of discretionary guidance. We hope that it will be soon,” Ms. Psaki said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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