President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Peter Orszag as his director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Orszag is currently the head of the Congressional Budget Office. If he’s confirmed by the Senate, he’ll head the White House office through which federal agency budget requests must flow.

The announcement comes as Obama spells out his budget-trimming plans, even as his team puts together an economic recovery package that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Obama told a Chicago news conference that budget reform isn’t simply an option, it’s a necessity.