Jan 11 2012
Jack Lew will replace Bill Daley in the post later this month after work is completed on the 2013 budget. Democrats and progressives are cheering this Obama administration pick because he has a long record of protecting entitlement programs, especially Medicaid.
USA Today: Daley Departure Indicates Shift In Strategy
Jacob Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will replace Daley later this month after he completes work on the 2013 budget. … The shake-up represents a 180-degree turn from what Obama needed a year ago, after Republicans had won control of the House of Representatives and made gains in the Senate. Then, he was under pressure to work with GOP leaders and with the business community, so he capitalized on Daley's ties to both. Now, in the wake of failed budget negotiations that nearly led to a government default last summer, Obama has largely given up on compromise (Madhani and Wolf, 1/10).
The Fiscal Times: Jack Lew: Budget Expert Named New Chief of Staff
As special assistant to President Clinton from 1993 to 1994, Lew helped design AmeriCorps, the national service program. Lew was described by colleagues and associates at the time as a smart, somewhat nerdy technocrat and legislative craftsman with a passion for the federal food stamp program and other social welfare policies that can better the lives of the poor. He is widely respected by centrists and liberals alike (Pianin, 1/9).
Politico Pro: Lew Wins Praise For Role In Protecting Medicaid
Democrats and progressives are cheering Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew's promotion to White House chief of staff, saying he has a decades-long history of protecting entitlement programs - especially Medicaid - from devastating cuts. President Barack Obama announced Monday that Lew would replace Bill Daley, whom many Democrats have regarded as too cozy with the business community and too willing to capitulate on entitlement cuts during budget negotiations with Hill Republicans (Feder, 1/9).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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