Zients to Commerce? Nope.

Politico's Mike Allen dropped a tantalizing tidbit on Tuesday: that Jeffrey Zients, federal chief performance officer and deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, was among those "mentioned" to be in line to serve as the next Commerce Secretary. That would be an interesting prospect, because Zients is in charge of the Obama administration's effort to overhaul the government's organizational structure, an initiative that is likely to start by rethinking Commerce and trade functions.

Alas, it apparently is not to be. Federal Times' Sean Reilly reports that OMB says Zients is staying put. "Jeff is staying here," OMB spokeswoman Moira Mack told Reilly, "to take a hard look at how we can better organize federal programs and functions to boost our nation's competitiveness, and that is where he is focused."