House Budget Committee Republicans urged their Senate colleagues to reject the nomination of Neera Tanden to be President Joe Biden’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget in a letter sent Tuesday.
Republican Budget Committee Leader Jason Smith cited Tanden’s past partisan behavior, financial ties to major corporations and foreign countries, and managerial misconduct as reasons to reject her in the letter. “Ms. Tanden does not appear to have the leadership qualities needed to represent such an important agency, and her divisive history will likely only further divide Americans,” read the letter signed by every Republican on the committee.
The letter highlighted a 2018 report in which Tanden revealed the identity of an anonymous victim of sexual harassment allegations to the staff of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank that Tanden led. Employees are quoted as saying that Tanden “lost the organization today” and “it is impossible to trust her.” (RELATED: A Biden Administration Pick Allegedly Punched A Liberal Reporter In The Chest For Asking A Question About Hillary Clinton)
Smith also raised concerns about CAP’s funding sources under Tanden’s leadership, which included companies like Walmart, Amazon, Facebook, and Google, and foreign governments like the United Arab Emirates. “It should also be noted that CAP has a history of going to great lengths to appease its donors, from censoring its own researchers’ reports to pushing policies that directly benefit its benefactors,” the letter stated.
Concerns over Tanden’s partisanship have been presented since news of her nomination first broke. She quickly moved to delete more than 1,000 tweets critical of Republicans who will now be voting on her confirmation when her nomination became public knowledge in November.
Smith pointed out the disconnect between Biden’s emphasis on national unity and Tanden’s nomination for such a critical role: “Rather than forming coalitions with lawmakers across the aisle, Ms. Tanden has continually put politics first.”
None of this matters. The only person who can stop Tanden’s confirmation is Bernie Sanders, and do to that, he’d have to defy the Biden Admin, by blocking the person who has done more over 6 years to smear not just him but his avid supporters as racists and misogynists. https://t.co/qYdVnceISK
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 9, 2021
Critics of Tanden have emerged on the left wing of Biden’s own party, as well. She has long been a vocal critic of Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, which Tanden will appear before Wednesday. (RELATED: Sen. Bernie Sanders Admits He Has ‘Concerns’ About $1.9 Trillion Relief Bill, But Says It Will Pass)
No one serious about corruption should vote to confirm Neera Tanden.
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) February 9, 2021
As she testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Tuesday, some progressives voiced opposition based on the same financial ties cited by Rep. Smith.