This profile focuses on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP). For a more general overview of EOP and its relevance to AI and biosecurity, see:

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

EOP is a group of offices and councils that support the president in executing their agenda domestically and internationally. EOP advises the president, coordinates policy development among federal agencies, and guides policy implementation.

Overview

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest component of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and helps implement the president’s vision in Congress and the executive branch. Its traditional and most visible role is developing the president’s annual budget proposal to Congress, but its influence extends far beyond this. Functioning as a central nervous system of the executive branch, OMB touches nearly every aspect of government and policy through its less visible roles of approving documents sent to Congress, drafting executive orders and memoranda, reviewing nearly all major agency regulations, and developing and executing a government-wide management plan.

OMB oversees the development and execution of the federal budget, including AI- and biosecurity-relevant funding across the intelligence community, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and other major relevant agencies.

• On AI policy, OMB has taken a central role in directing agencies on AI use and procurement, and OMB is responsible for reviewing regulations proposed across nearly all federal agencies.
• On biosecurity policy, OMB coordinates, tracks, and supervises biodefense budgeting across the executive branch, works with health agencies to monitor and review funding decisions, and sets spending priorities on areas like pandemic preparedness and biosecurity R&D.

Background on OMB

• Government context: OMB is the largest component of the Executive Office of the President (EOP); the OMB Director is a member of the president’s cabinet and reports directly to the president
• Mission: to assist the president in the development and execution of their policies and programs and to ensure enacted law is carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible
• Main activities: budget formulation and execution; legislative coordination and clearance; “mission support” for agencies, including procurement, financial management, and IT; agency regulation review; executive order and memoranda clearance
• Budget: $130 million
• Staff: ~510 employees (comparatively small given the broad scope of its work)
• Brief history: founded in 1921 as the Bureau of the Budget (BOB) for presidential budget preparation in the Department of the Treasury; moved into the Executive Office in 1939 through the creation of the EOP; reorganized into OMB under the Nixon administration in 1970

Structure

OMB plays a critical role in overseeing federal budget formulation and execution and in managing regulatory and administrative policy for the executive branch. OMB can be thought of as a “funnel” through which almost every significant executive branch proposal or document must flow before release, giving it vast policy scope and influence. The Office can be broadly divided into three verticals: budget, management, and regulations, with several OMB-wide offices supporting both. 

Leadership and political appointments

Most of OMB’s leadership positions are appointed at the president’s discretion, but the six highest positions require Senate confirmation. These Senate-confirmed roles are:

1. Director (Cabinet member)
2. Deputy Director
3. Deputy Director for Management
4. Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
5. Administrator, Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM)
6. Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP)

Program Associate Directors (PADs) lead OMB’s budget teams (RMOs) and are politically appointed without Senate confirmation. 

Below is an org chart showing OMB leadership and its split into budget (resource management offices), management (statutory offices), and OMB-wide support offices.

Budget: Resource Management Offices (RMOs)

OMB’s RMOs develop the president’s budget proposal and monitor program implementation in agencies. RMO structure can change by administration; for example, President Biden replaced the former Natural Resources RMO with the Climate, Energy, Environment, and Science RMO and split off Transportation, Homeland Security, Justice, and Service Programs from the General Government RMO. The Biden administration RMOs were:

1. National Security RMO – Oversees the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, and the intelligence community.¹
2. Education, Income Maintenance & Labor RMO – Oversees Social Security, Departments of Education and Labor, and other related programs.
3. Health RMO – Oversees Medicare, Medicaid, NIH, FDA, and other public health programs.
4. Climate, Energy, Environment, & Science RMO – Oversees energy, federal lands, pollution control, and science-related agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
5. General Government RMO – Oversees transportation, homeland security, criminal justice programs, and remaining federal programs.

Approximately half of OMB’s staff work within the RMOs, which together oversee the entire federal budget (more details on OMB’s role in the budget process below). 

Each RMO is led by a politically appointed PAD and is divided into either one or two divisions, which are led by Deputy Associate Directors (DADs). Divisions are further divided into 2-5 branches, led by branch chiefs. DADs and branch chiefs are Senior Executive Service (SES) civil servants. Roughly 6-12 career civil servants called program examiners staff each branch. Program examiners cover highly broad policy portfolios that rarely overlap. For example, the budgets for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and multiple other bio-relevant agencies would be assigned to a single program examiner.

Management 

OMB’s management offices (also known as “statutory” offices) handle management and administrative policy across the executive branch, focusing on areas like financial management, procurement, information technology, and other aspects of agency operations. All management offices report to the deputy director of management. Key management-side offices include:

• Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM)
• Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP)
• Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer (OFCIO) 

Regulation 

OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) oversees the regulatory, information collection, and statistical activities of executive agencies. OIRA is divided into six branches: 

1. Food, Health, & Labor 
2. Information Policy 
3. Natural Resources and Environment
4. Privacy 
5. Transportation & Security 
6. Statistical & Science Policy

OIRA’s branches are staffed by desk officers who report to deputy administrators (similar to DADs on the budget side). See OIRA’s full org chart here.

OMB-wide support offices

OMB also has seven support offices that provide operational and analytical assistance across OMB:

• Office of General Counsel
• Office of Legislative Affairs
• Budget Review Division
• Legislative Reference Division
• Economic Policy Division 

Key activities and components

Though often operating behind the scenes, OMB’s activities greatly influence federal budget allocation, policy implementation, and executive branch operations. This section reviews major OMB activities and components, many of which are less publicly visible but could significantly impact emerging technology governance.

Budgeting and RMOs

Resource Management Offices (RMOs) carry out OMB’s core functions of preparing the president’s budget proposal, supporting the president’s legislative agenda in Congress, and supervising the president’s management agenda across federal agencies. In formulating the president’s budget plans and funding priorities, RMOs evaluate the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures. After budget enactment, RMOs oversee budget execution and provide ongoing policy and management guidance to federal agencies. RMOs also provide analysis and evaluation of policy options, provide expertise to other White House agencies, and support government-wide management initiatives. 

This comprehensive scope allows RMOs to exert significant influence across the federal government’s budgetary, policy, and management functions, enabling them to significantly shape the direction of federal programs. As one former OMB deputy director explained: 

One of the secrets only the initiated know is that those who labor here [at OMB] for long do so because the numbers are the keys to the doors of everything. Spending for the arts, the sciences, foreign policy and defense, health and welfare, education, agriculture, the environment, everything—and revenues from every source—all are reflected, recorded, and battled over—in numbers. And the sums of the numbers produce fiscal and monetary policy. If it matters—there are numbers that define it. And if you are responsible for advising the president about numbers, you are—de facto—in the stream of every policy decision made by the federal government.

OMB and the budget process

The president’s budget proposal to Congress, developed and prepared by OMB, is the first step in the annual congressional budget-making process. Below is a simplified overview of the congressional budget timeline:²

1. Early in the year (typically February): the president submits a comprehensive budget proposal to Congress for the following fiscal year (which begins in October). 
2. March to April: Congress reviews the president’s budget request and uses it to inform a Joint Budget Resolution, which sets overall spending, revenue, deficit, and debt targets. The Budget Resolution also sets a spending total for the Appropriations committee.
3. June to September: the Appropriations committee (“approps”) divides its total spending level provided in the Budget Resolution into 12 targets for each subcommittee, who then draft bills hitting those targets. Ultimately, Congress needs to pass all 12 bills, either separately or in groups. Separate from the Appropriations process, Congress can—but does not have to—consider legislation that adjusts tax policy or “mandatory” spending policy.
4. By October 1: conference committees resolve any differences between House and Senate versions, Congress passes the final appropriations bills, and the President signs them into law. If the final appropriations bills are not passed by the start of the fiscal year, it creates a funding gap for government spending.
5. On October 1: the new fiscal year (FY) begins, and the new budget takes effect. If a budget has not been adopted, Congress often turns to continuing resolutions (CRs), which temporarily extend funding at the previous year’s levels. CRs buy time for lawmakers to negotiate longer-term appropriations bills, but they can also create uncertainties for federal agencies that can affect long-term planning.

While the president’s budget proposal provides a starting point for the budget process, this version will undergo significant changes during the congressional budget process. Certain parts of the president’s proposal hold more sway than others. Even in years with divided government, the Appropriations committees seriously weigh the president’s proposed funding levels for discretionary accounts (as opposed to mandatory spending on programs like Social Security), especially for less-well-known or “noncontroversial accounts.” Big proposed changes to mandatory programs or tax policies are less likely to get adopted in a divided government, though they can still send important agenda signals. Similarly, high-level language describing the budget can signal administration positions and name-check priorities. 

In recent years, Congress has struggled to complete its budget and appropriations work on time due to partisan conflicts and other political dynamics. This has led to a growing dependence on temporary measures—known as continuing resolutions (CRs)—to keep the government functioning. This cycle has contributed to recurring government shutdowns or near shutdowns, funding gaps, and the frequent use of stopgap spending measures. During shutdowns, OMB coordinates agency contingency plans and works with the president to determine which government activities will stop and which are essential (or “excepted”) to continue. 

Two other OMB divisions provide significant support to the RMOs’ efforts throughout the budget process. The Budget Review Division (BRD) analyzes the overall budget picture and the high-level impact of policy options. It aggregates data from the RMOs, provides strategic and technical support for budget negotiations and development, and monitors congressional action throughout the budget process. Additionally, the Economic Policy Division (EP) supports RMOs and other offices with data analytics, budget estimates, policy proposals, and cost-benefit analysis. It helps develop economic assumptions for the president’s budget proposal and collaborates with BRD on fiscal issues.

Regulatory review and OIRA

Little known outside DC, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) oversees the regulatory, information collection, and statistical activities of executive agencies. All significant regulations developed by federal agencies must pass through OIRA before release, except for those from independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). OIRA coordinates interagency and EOP review of proposed regulations, resolves disagreements, and provides its own in-house analysis. 

OIRA’s goal is to ensure that federal agencies’ rules maximize net benefits and align with presidential policy preferences. When a federal agency develops a proposed regulation, it first submits it to OIRA, which coordinates a review process across relevant White House offices and federal agencies. Acting as a central clearinghouse, OIRA gathers feedback, incorporating its own analysis alongside input from across EOP and relevant agencies.³ OIRA then compiles a comprehensive “passback” to the originating agency, summarizing and clarifying any issues raised during the review. The agency must address these points with OIRA before publishing the proposal for public comment. In this way, OIRA serves as a coordinating agent, conveying the collective assessment of EOP and agency stakeholders. 

Through OIRA, EOP exerts substantial influence over agency rulemaking, with OIRA able to delay or block regulations either by prolonged review periods or by issuing “return letters” that identify problems requiring reconsideration. This process makes OIRA a vehicle for significant presidential control over federal rulemaking, as agencies cannot proceed without OIRA’s approval, and a return letter is effectively seen as killing a proposed regulation. OIRA’s regulatory review website shows the rules currently under review.

OIRA also reviews government information collection through the Paperwork Reduction Act, coordinates policy on federal statistical activities, and coordinates federal privacy policy. OIRA’s Statistical & Science Policy Branch is headed by the US Chief Statistician, who chairs the interagency council on statistical policy and represents the US internationally on statistical policy (e.g. at the UN or OECD). OIRA also leads on sharing and classifying cross-agency data for evidence building and has supported multiple memoranda on statistical and scientific information quality. 

Management and procurement

OMB’s management side oversees agency procedures and operations, including oversight of agency performance, procurement, financial systems, cybersecurity, and information technology. 

The Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM), for example, directs government-wide financial policies, while the Office of Performance and Personnel Management (OPPM) directs workforce management and personnel vetting. The Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer (OFCIO) guides technology use across agencies and aims to make it easier for citizens and businesses to interact with government.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) is responsible for directing government-wide policy for purchasing private sector goods and services. In sectors like defense, where the US government is often the dominant buyer, federal procurement policies and regulations can fundamentally shape industry behavior. OFCIO has also been heavily involved in federal AI procurement policy as part of President Biden’s 2023 Executive Order on AI. 

Legislative clearance

OMB’s Legislative Reference Division (LRD) reviews and clears documents passing from the executive branch to Congress, including legislative proposals, testimonies, and statements of administration policy (SAPs) on proposed legislation. SAP lists from the first Trump and Biden administrations can be viewed here and here. Through these responsibilities, LRD plays a key role in shaping Congress’ understanding of executive branch preferences and transferring executive branch knowledge to congressional decision-makers.

Executive Order and memoranda clearance

OMB reviews, approves, and frequently drafts executive orders (EOs). After an EO is issued, OMB drafts follow-up memoranda (or M-memos) telling agencies how to carry out the order at a more granular level. OMB’s General Counsel works with the Department of Justice on drafting EOs, and many other OMB components contribute to memoranda development related to their expertise (e.g. procurement, financial management, digital services).

OMB and AI policy

OMB shapes AI policy through its vast executive oversight role and substantial inputs into the regulatory and budget process. OMB components relevant to AI policy include resource management offices (RMOs) working on science and technology spending, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which approves or denies agencies’ proposed regulations, and the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer (OFCIO), which has overseen AI procurement policy following the Biden’s Executive Order on AI.

Recent AI-related developments at OMB

OMB components relevant to AI policy

OMB offices particularly relevant to AI policy may include: 

• National Security RMO: oversees the budgets and policies of defense and intelligence agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs. Its primary responsibilities involve coordinating and reviewing budget submissions from agencies in its purview, monitoring programs and policy implementation by these agencies, ensuring that funding aligns with the President’s national security priorities, and promoting efficient resource allocation across defense, diplomacy, intelligence, and veterans’ services. As AI’s relevance to national security increases, the National Security RMO plays an outsized role in shaping both the funding and use of AI systems in these agencies.
  • Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence branch: oversees intelligence work, including those involving AI. 
  • Force Structure and Investment branch: oversees most of the hardware that DOD and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) acquire. 
• Climate, Energy, Environment, & Science Programs RMO: oversees AI spending at the Department of Energy (DOE) and NSF.
• General Government RMO, Commerce branch: oversees most of the Department of Commerce (DOC), which oversees export controls on semiconductor technology.
• Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer (OFCIO): oversees government-wide information technology spending (~$78 billion in 2024) and provides technical expertise for agencies adopting new technology systems. It’s responsible for implementing key legislation, including parts of the 2020 AI in Government Act, the 2018 SECURE Technology Act, and AI procurement policy from Biden’s Executive Order on AI. OFCIO often works with US Digital Service (USDS), which is tasked with enhancing public-facing digital services. OFCIO’s influence over federal AI procurement is significant since the government can use its market influence as a large buyer to establish desired AI product standards from its vendors. AI systems are increasingly used across US government agencies, expanding OFCIO’s role in AI procurement. For example:
  • HHS uses AI to predict infectious diseases and prepare for potential pandemics.
  • DOE employs AI to forecast natural disasters and plan recovery efforts.
  • DHS utilizes AI to assist cyber forensic specialists in detecting anomalies in federal civilian networks.
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA): exerts considerable influence over regulations through its review process, including many AI-related regulations (though since its mandate doesn’t include independent agencies like FTC, some agencies with significant AI policy roles fall outside OIRA’s regulations review scope).
• Budget Review Division (BRD): provides leadership and analytic support across OMB by analyzing the overall budget picture and the impact of policy options on that picture, and providing technical expertise on budget concepts and execution.

OMB and biosecurity policy

On biosecurity policy, OMB coordinates, tracks, and supervises biodefense budgeting across the executive branch, works with health agencies to monitor and review funding decisions, reviews major regulations proposed by relevant health and science agencies, and sets spending priorities on areas like pandemic preparedness and biosecurity R&D.

Recent biosecurity-related developments at OMB

OMB components relevant to bio policy

OMB components particularly relevant to biosecurity policy may include: 

• Health RMO: oversees funding, policy implementation, and management in Medicare, Medicaid, NIH, FDA, and other public health programs. The Health RMO is important for R&D and program funding in areas like pandemic prevention and preparedness and biosecurity.
  • Public health branch: coordinates the biodefense budget crosscut across OMB, also oversees budgets for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and NIH.
• National Security RMO: oversees bio budgets at DOD, State, US Agency for International Development (USAID), DHS, and NNSA. 
• Climate, Energy, Environment, and & Science Programs RMO, Agriculture Branch: oversees bio-relevant components of USDA.
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA): OIRA exerts considerable influence over regulations through its review process, including many biosecurity-related regulations (though since its mandate doesn’t include independent agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF), some agencies with significant biosecurity policy roles fall outside OIRA’s regulations review scope). Biosecurity-relevant agencies like Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) fall in OIRA’s purview. 
• Budget Review Division (BRD): provides leadership and analytic support across OMB by analyzing the overall budget picture and the impact of policy options on that picture, and providing technical expertise on budget concepts and execution.

Working at OMB

Background and skills

Unlike many other EOP offices (e.g. NSC and OSTP), OMB is primarily staffed by career civil servants who often serve across multiple administrations, providing a wealth of institutional memory and knowledge that surpasses that of most political appointees. This continuity allows OMB to maintain a deep understanding of government operations and policy implications over time. While OMB staff has decreased since the 1980s, OMB responsibilities have grown, meaning individual staffers have seen increasing scopes for their work.

The following sections cover the type of backgrounds and skill sets that may be relevant for positions in RMOs, OIRA, or OFCIO:

• Resource Management Offices (RMOs): Most RMO staff are Program Examiners with dual responsibility for budgetary and management issues in their specific policy areas. Given OMB’s vast scope of decision-making, many decisions are made by the career staff (rather than the political appointees leading OMB), with individual staffers exerting considerable influence over their area of responsibility. RMO examiner roles typically require a strong background in public policy, economics, finance, and data analysis. Many RMO examiners will be new hires with graduate degrees from top policy schools; others have earned MBAs, JDs, and doctorates. Many examiners and most RMO senior career staff will also have prior experience working in or with government, including in Congress, state or federal agencies, the military, think tanks, or (less commonly) the private sector. OMB’s National Security staff typically possess in-depth knowledge of defense and intelligence programs, often gained through prior military service, work as DOD civilians, or extensive experience as national security analysts in OMB or other federal oversight agencies.
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA): OIRA desk officers review proposed federal regulations, assess their economic impacts, identify scientific and legal issues, and explore alternative approaches. OIRA’s regulatory branches are commonly staffed by policy graduate degree holders, economics PhDs, and statistics PhDs. Experience with regulatory processes, statistical analysis, and impact assessment is highly valued.
• Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer (OFCIO): OFCIO employs cybersecurity analysts, policy analysts, IT modernization experts, and contractor staff with experience both in government and in the private sector. Rapid technology evolution means that OFCIO requires subject matter expertise in areas such as cloud security engineering, secure software development practices, incident response, red teaming and penetration testing, digital identity, artificial intelligence, IT procurement and financial management, technology workforce, API adoption, and quantum computing.

Jobs and internships

When pursuing OMB roles, it’s helpful to already have a security clearance. To find open positions at OMB, visit USAJOBS filtering for “Office of Management and Budget.” Prior civil service experience is common and highly valued.

OMB also participates in the Pathways Program, which brings early-career individuals into federal civil service. OMB offers paid fall, spring, and summer internships in Washington, DC for undergraduate and graduate students. Applicants who receive an offer need to complete the SF-86 to determine whether they meet security clearance eligibility requirements.

Several fellowship programs may offer EOP placement, most commonly:

• Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) – a prestigious two-year program that allows recent graduate degree recipients to get jobs in the US federal government. PMF is a very common pathway into OMB; many budget-side staffers enter OMB through PMF.
• White House Fellows – a 1-year full-time fellowship for individuals from diverse disciplines.
• Presidential Innovation Fellowship (PIF) – a 1-2 year full-time executive branch fellowship for mid-to-senior-level technology experts conducting technical work for the government.

See also our policy fellowship guide and list of executive branch fellowships.

Further reading

General OMB resources:

• OMB website (and Biden OMB website), White House
• White House Transition Project, OMB: An Insider’s Guide (2021)
• OMB: An Overview, Congressional Research Service (CRS) (2023)
• The Role of OMB in Budget Development, CRS (2024)
• EOP Congressional Budget Submission, White House (2024)
• How to Defend Presidential Authority, Statecraft interview with Russell Vought (2024)
• How to Use Challenge Prizes, Statecraft interview with Cristin Dorgelo (2023)
• OMB, Trump White House Archives
• National Blueprint for Biodefense, Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (2024)
• The President’s Budget as a Source of Agency Policy Control, Eloise Pasachoff (2016)
• Books:
  • Executive Policymaking: The Role of OMB in the Presidency, Meena Bose & Andrew Rudalevige (eds.) (2020)
  • The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, and Process, Allen Schick (2000)

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA):

• How OIRA works, Statecraft interview with John D. Graham (2024)
• Is OIRA still fit for its purpose?, Henry Hirsch (2024)
• OIRA and the Future of Cost-benefit Analysis, Stuart Shapiro (2020)
• The Anti-Capture Justification for Regulatory Review, Michael A. Livermore & Richard L. Revesz (2013)
• Simpler: The Future of Government, Cass R. Sunstein (2013)

Footnotes

Other agency profiles

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

National Security Council (NSC)

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

National Economic Council (NEC) and Domestic Policy Council (DPC)

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Department of Defense (DOD)

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Department of State (DOS)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

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