President Obama has nominated Howard Shelanski, the top economist at the Federal Trade Commission, to direct the White House office overseeing all federal regulations.

If confirmed, Mr. Shelanski will direct the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a branch of the Office of Management and Budget. The Senate this week confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell to lead the budget office.

Mr. Shelanksi, 48, an economist and lawyer who was a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court, has taught at Georgetown University Law Center and at the University of California, Berkeley. He serves as the director of the trade commission’s bureau of economics.

His previous posts include chief economist at the Federal Communications Commission and senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration.