Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testifies at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 10, 2021.
Andrew Harnik | Swimming pool | Reuters
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin will vote against Neera Tanden’s nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget, jeopardizing her confirmation to an important post in the Biden administration.
Unless a Republican backs Tanden, Manchin’s opposition would sink its affirmation in a Senate split 50-50 per party. In a statement to NBC News on Friday, the West Virginia senator cited Teeth’s tweets that sent sitting senators across the political spectrum.
“I believe her openly biased statements will have a poisonous and damaging impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,” said Manchin, a conservative Democrat who has already slammed Biden against a or other coronavirus. assistance issues. “For this reason I cannot support her nomination.”
If she doesn’t get enough support, Tanden would be the Biden government’s first choice to not get confirmation from the Senate. Not a single Republican said they would vote for her again. President Joe Biden’s choice of Tanden sparked more backlash than any of his other choices for executive jobs.
Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress left-wing think tank and adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, faced a quirk in the Senate earlier this month over her criticism of lawmakers. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, pointed to tweets comparing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., To Harry Potter villain Voldemort, saying “vampires have more heart” than GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
Senator Bernie Sanders also mentioned Tanden’s history of “brutal attacks” against progressives and the independent Vermont senator himself. Clinton allies and the Center for American Progress spoke to Sanders during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries amid disputes over the future of the party.
Tanden apologized to senators during her confirmation hearings this month.
“I deeply regret and apologize for my language and some of my past language,” she said.
Teeth reportedly deleted more than 1,000 tweets before her confirmation process began.
The OMB director assists in planning and executing the executive branch’s federal budget and programs. Tanden, a daughter of Indian immigrants, would be the first woman of color to hold the post if confirmed.
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