Safavian to be Nomiinated as Procurement Policy Chief President Bush will nominate a former congressional staffer, David Hossein Safavian, to head OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the White House announced Nov. 4. Safavian is now chief of staff at the General Services Administration, the agency’s number three official. His experience working for three Republican congressmen may be his most important credential. The procurement policy office is spearheading the president’s competitive sourcing initiative in the face of considerable congressional opposition. Safavian must be confirmed by the Senate. The confirmation proceedings could be a lightning rod for critics of competitive sourcing. With Congress pushing to adjourn before Thanksgiving, the hearings are not likely to be scheduled until next year. He would succeed Angela Styles, who served as the public spokesperson for the sourcing initiative. She resigned in September. Under Styles, the procurement policy office also developed the administration’s contract bundling initiative and has responsibility for overseeing that policy. Safavian served as chief of staff to Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) and worked for former Michigan House members William Schuette and Robert Davis. He opened a lobbying shop after leaving Capitol Hill. His wife, Jennifer Safavian, is chief counsel for oversight and investigations for the House Government Reform Committee, the committee that oversees federal procurement. A spokesman for chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) said Mrs. Safavian would not participate in any investigations of federal procurement. David Safavian is a graduate of St. Louis University and Michigan State University’s Detroit College of Law.