Votes for Controversial Biden Nominee Abruptly Postponed, Signaling Confirmation Could Be in Jeopardy
Both of the Senate committee votes on controversial Biden nominee Neera Tanden were postponed Wednesday morning, signaling her confirmation to become director of the White House budget office could be in jeopardy.
Notices from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Budget committees said the scheduled Wednesday votes on Tanden’s nomination to become the director of the Office of Management and Budget would be delayed, Politico reported.
“We are postponing the business meeting because members need more time to consider the nominee,” a Democratic aide on the Homeland Security committee said.
“The president deserves to have a team in place that he wants, and we’re going to work with our members to figure out the best path forward.”
Tandem has come under scrutiny for her past comments on Twitter about senators — thousands of which she deleted after she was nominated — and partisan ties to the Democratic party.
In a few instances, she compared Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to Harry Potter villain Voldemort and insulted independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Politico reported.
Sen. Joe Manchin announced last week he would oppose her nomination because of those statements, according to CBS News.
“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,” the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement.
“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’s opposition means that at least one Republican needs to support her nomination for Tanden to be confirmed.
But other moderates, including Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, have come out in opposition of her nomination.
“Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency,” Collins said in a statement.
“In addition, Ms. Tanden’s decision to delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency. Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the Director will be forthcoming.”
Tanden had also tweeted that Collins was “the worst” prior to her confirmation hearings.
The White House continues to support its pick for OMB, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeting Wednesday that Tanden “brings critical qualifications to the table during this time of unprecedented crisis.”
She also has important perspective and values, understanding firsthand the powerful difference policy can make in the lives of those going through hard times.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 24, 2021
During her confirmation hearing, Tanden said she felt “badly” about her deleted tweets and said her “approach will be radically different.”
Other moderates, including Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have not yet indicated how they will vote on the nominee.
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