Veteran procurement official likely to be named to OMB contracting post

President Bush is close to nominating Paul Denett, an experienced federal contracting official, to head the Office of Management and Budget's procurement policy office, according to a source familiar with the situation. The source said Denett is the only person to have interviewed several times with Bush administration officials, and that an announcement of his appointment could come soon.

Denett, vice president of contracting programs at the Arlington, Va.-based contract management consultancy ESI International, previously served as a senior procurement executive at the Interior and Treasury departments. He also is an officer of the Procurement Round Table, a nonprofit organization made up of former federal acquisition officials with the "objective of advising and assisting the government in making improvements in federal acquisition," according to its Web site.

Steven Kelman, former OFPP administrator under President Clinton and a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, said, "Paul Denett is an experienced, very well respected career procurement professional who will bring the kind of knowledgeability, experience and strong commitment to the public good that we really need in this job."

Members of the procurement community also said they were pleased that OMB was considering a person who has so much federal procurement experience.

An OMB spokesman declined to comment beyond saying that the selection process is under way, and that President Bush has not made a decision or nomination.

Denett did not return calls to his office at ESI.

A spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., declined to comment.

The OFPP chief position has been empty since Sept. 16, when David Safavian resigned and days later was arrested for activity related to his previous role as chief of staff for the General Services Administration. He has since been indicted.