The U.S. Senate Thursday confirmed former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to take over as President Barack Obama's budget director. Donovan takes the helm of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who is now serving as secretary of health and human services. Donovan was confirmed on a vote of 75-22. Donovan was a leader within the Obama administration in tackling the U.S. housing crisis, one of the triggers of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Shortly after his re-election, Obama appointed Donovan to lead rebuilding efforts in areas that suffered damage from Superstorm Sandy, which ravaged the eastern coast of the United States.
