OMB Director Jack Lew Becoming White House Chief Of Staff

 The White House announced about two hours ago that OMB Director Jack Lew has been named the new chief of staff, replacing William Daley.

Lew is a good choice for COS. He gets not just good but great marks for his management skills and, given what he's been through at OMB, obviously knows how to deal with pressure situations. 

But his leaving OMB now puts that agency in a bind because, unless something happened late last year that I didn't hear about, the deputy director for budget -- Rob Nabors -- hasn't been confirmed yet by the Senate. That likely means that Jeff Zients, the deputy for management, is the only one at OMB who legally can be acting director.

I would not be at all surprised if National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling gets nominated to replace Lew at OMB. Gene was mentioned prominently the last time the job was open as a possible replacement for then-OMB Director Peter Orszag (Full disclosure: My name was also among those listed in the news reports) and it's hardly a secret that he lusts after the job.