OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein to step down

Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is leaving his government post to return to academia.

Politico first broke the news that Sunstein will take up a role at Harvard Law School as the Felix Frankfurter professor of law and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, a position he held before being tapped as the OIRA administrator in 2009.

Sunstein is also a graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

In an Aug. 3 statement, OMB Acting Director Jeffrey Zients thanked Sunstein for his public service and leadership in helping President Barack Obama in overseeing the nation's regulatory program. “I can’t thank Cass enough for all he has done for OMB, for the administration, and for the American people," Zients said.

Sunstein has actively worked to make the government more transparent and innovative by being involved in the administration’s Open Government Initiative. He also advocated for creative reforms to increase public participation in the regulatory process and promoted accountability to the U.S. public, Zients said.

Boris Bershteyn, OMB’s general counsel, will take over as acting OIRA administrator. Bershteyn currently serves on the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and has been OMB’s general counsel since June 2011.