President Joe Biden confirmed he is standing by Neera Tanden as his nominee for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Friday, despite accusations from Republicans and Democrats that she is too partisan for the role.
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin dealt a potentially fatal blow to Tanden’s nomination Friday when he said various tweets and statements she made in the past disqualified her from the top spot at OMB. The OMB is entrusted with providing non-partisan reviews of congressional budget proposals and other legislation. (RELATED: Sen. Kennedy Tells Neera Tanden ‘You Called Sen. Sanders Everything But An Ignorant Slut’)
“I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed,” Biden told reporters Friday.
Neera Tanden, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), speaks as President-elect Joe Biden announces nominees and appointees to serve on his economic policy team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., December 1, 2020. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
Manchin released a scathing statement opposing Tanden’s nomination Friday afternoon, saying she would be a “toxic and detrimental” influence on OMB.
“I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others. I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,” Manchin said in the statement.
If confirmed, Tanden would join OMB following a stint as president of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress. Tanden deleted more than 1,000 tweets critical of Republicans and some Democrats soon after Biden announced her nomination.
.@neeratanden appears to have deleted her tweets about Susan Collins, whose vote she’ll likely need for confirmation.
h/t @varadmehta pic.twitter.com/atwonFCaMb— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) November 30, 2020