Biden Pushes Limit of Acting Leaders With Rules Boom on Way

The budget office is writing next year’s government-wide spending proposal without a director.

An office that approves coronavirus vaccines is doing so under an interim chief.

And the White House regulations office is editing rules that will massively expand the size and scope of the federal government—without a permanent leader.

Implementing Biden’s push for the largest expansion of the social safety net in decades and overhauling portions of the tax code, assuming it gets through Congress, will require new rules, guidance and processes to be developed across the administration.

But many of the senior officials who would have to carry ...