The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has a new acting administrator, as 19-year OIRA veteran Dominic Mancini will lead the office – housed within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – on an acting basis.
President Biden has yet to nominate a permanent administrator to lead OIRA, the administrative office largely tasked with reviewing regulatory rules that come from the executive branch, implementing government-wide statistics practices, and coordinating Federal privacy policies.
Mancini takes over for Sharon Block, who led OIRA as acting administrator from April 2021 through Feb. 1, concurrently serving as the associate administrator since January 2021. Block will return to Harvard Law School, where she had previously served as Executive Director of the law school’s Labor and Worklife Program from 2017-2021.
“Today is my last day in Biden Admin’s [OMB],” Block tweeted Feb. 1. “Thanks to my OIRA team, amazing WH colleagues & fellow agency [regulatory] nerds-such great partners. This awesome team started running at 12:01pm on 1/20/21 to make life better for ALL & hasn’t slowed down. I’ll be cheering you on always!”
Mancini’s move will mark his second stint leaving the office; he served as acting administrator for the first four months of the Biden Administration before Block officially took over. Mancini has served as a deputy administrator at OIRA since March 2013 and at the agency since 2002. His other roles at OIRA have included senior economist and bureau chief of National Resources and the Environment. Prior to his time at OIRA, Mancini served as an economist at the Food and Drug Administration from 2000-2002.
