President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction committee will consider all options to reduce the government's ballooning deficit, including cutting spending in areas currently protected by the administration's formal budget proposal, or raising taxes for those earning less than $250,000, Peter Orszag, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, told CNBC Thursday.
"What the president was very clear about first was that [raising taxes] was not what we proposed, but that we have to let this commission do its work, and that everything's on the table," Orszag said. "All options need to be examined."
Orszag emphasized that successfully reducing the deficit requires bipartisan participation, and that the committee's goal is to reduce the deficit in the medium- to long-term.
He said the committee is off to a good start, but any action recommeded by the group would need to be voted on by both the House and the Senate to be enacted.
The President signed an order to create the commission on Thursday, as the deficit is projected to climb to 10.6 percent of GDP this year.
—Reuters contributed to this report