Senate confirms Bolten as OMB director

The Senate confirmed Joshua Bolten as OMB director Thursday night without debate after the Governmental Affairs Committee approved him on a voice vote earlier in the day. He had drawn bipartisan praise from the panel's members.

Bolten, who has been Bush's deputy chief of staff, succeeds former OMB Director Mitch Daniels-now a candidate for governor of Indiana. As director of OMB, Bolten will be an administration point man on spending legislation, oversee the management of the government's huge bureaucracy and be largely responsible for developing the fiscal 2005 budget Bush will send to Congress next year. Prior to working on Bush's presidential campaign and in his administration, the Washington, D.C., native was a top London executive of the Wall Street investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs.

The White House announced Friday that Harriet Miers would replace Bolten as deputy chief of staff. Miers has served as a special assistant to the president.

Also on Friday, the Senate confirmed Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid to replace Gen. Tommy Franks as head of U.S. Central Command, a position that includes responsibility for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Abizaid is now the No. 2 official at Central Command, which oversees military operations from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia. He was confirmed by voice vote.

Senators praised Abizaid during a confirmation hearing Wednesday for his extensive military background and expertise in the Middle East. He is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, fluent in Arabic, and holds a master's degree in Middle East studies from Harvard. They also praised his bluntness. At the hearing, Abizaid said he was perplexed by the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He also said a large number of U.S. soldiers will be needed in Iraq "for the foreseeable future."

Franks announced last month he would retire.