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Obama to Nominate Katherine Archuleta as OPM Director

Former campaign official has served in Labor, Energy and Transportation departments.

This story has been updated.

President Obama will nominate former campaign staffer and Labor Department official Katherine Archuleta to head the Office of Personnel Management, the White House has announced.

Archuleta has vast experience in federal government, most recently serving as chief of staff to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. She previously served in the Clinton administration as chief of staff to Transportation Secretary Federico Peña, and as senior policy advisory when Peña became Energy secretary. She also worked as an aide when Peña was mayor of Denver.

Most recently, she was political director to Obama’s re-election campaign.

“Katherine brings to the Office of Personnel Management broad experience and a deep commitment to recruiting and retaining a world-class workforce for the American people,” Obama said in a statement. “I am grateful Katherine has agreed to serve, and I look forward to working with her in the coming years.”

Archuleta will replace John Berry, whose term expired in April. OPM’s general counsel, Elaine Kaplan, has served as acting director in the interim.

As the chief personnel officer for all federal employees, Archuleta will be charged with overseeing the implementation of furloughs across many agencies due to sequestration.