"The White House has decided on a new chief for the agency overseeing the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda.

Paul Ray has been named acting head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a senior administration official confirmed, though there has been no public announcement.

Ray comes to the position from a stint as OIRA's associate administrator for less than a year. He will take over for Neomi Rao, who was sworn in this week to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Rao nabbed the seat left vacant by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

OIRA had not made an official announcement of the change in leadership as of this morning, which some critics say is typical of a lack of transparency at OIRA. Bloomberg Government first reported last week that Ray would be named to the acting post, citing unnamed sources."

Niina Heikkinen reports for Greenwire March 20, 2019. [2]