Werfel previously served as a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget and is considered to have a good relationship with Senate Republicans, according to a Washington Post article.
The University of North Carolina law school graduate was confirmed as OMB controller in 2009, held previous roles in the agency prior to that and was an attorney in the Justice Department’s civil rights division earlier in his career.
In his most recent role as controller, he has helped the Obama administration prepare for a government shutdown and helped manage the automatic budget cuts brought about by the sequester.