Will He Stay?

Obama Woos Orszag

Urges him to stay on as budget director.

The job of White House budget director is legendary for its capacity to burn people out. As one of Bill Clinton's directors put it, the budget director "often stands in opposition to White House staff, Cabinet members, and senior members of Congress on a wide variety of issues. It can be draining to be the voice of responsibility all the time." After grappling with Obama's $862 billion stimulus measure and the $940 billion health-care overhaul, Obama's budget director, Peter Orszag, had been poised to depart this summer after an 18-month tenure, which is about usual, Bloomberg reports. Now, though, Orszag is reconsidering after Obama appealed for him to reconsider and stay on; associates who thought his departure was a sure thing now say they wouldn't be surprised if he stays for another year.