WASHINGTON – Neera Tanden’s nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget took another hit Monday when Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced her opposition.
“Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to direct this skepticism,” Collins said in a statement. “Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of hostility President Biden has promised to transcend.”
Collins said Tanden’s decision to “delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced is a concern about her commitment to transparency.”
“Should Congress need to revise any documents or actions taken by OMB, we need to be confident that the director will be present,” she said. “The OMB needs stable, experienced and responsive leadership. I will vote against Mrs Tanden’s confirmation. “
Collins’ announcement comes after Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said Friday he would oppose Teeth to serve as OMB director. He said he had watched Tanden’s previous tweets criticizing officials across the political spectrum and said he could not support her nomination because “her openly biased statements will have a toxic and damaging impact” on the relationship between it. Congress and the OMB.
With Manchin’s opposition, Democrats will need at least one GOP vote to confirm her on the Senate floor. Collins’ rejection of the nomination doesn’t bode well for Teeth, as the Maine senator is one of the more moderate members of the party who sometimes join Democrats on major votes.
President Joe Biden said Friday in response to Manchin’s announcement that he had no intention of revoking Teeth’s nomination.
Former Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., tweeted She hopes Tanden will be confirmed over the weekend and calls her “smart, experienced and qualified” to lead OMB.
“We should always remember that in the future there will be a Republican president who wants to see his / her nominees confirmed,” he said.
