Budget Nominee Tanden Withdraws Nomination Amid Opposition

March 3, 2021by Alexandra Jaffe, Associated Press
Budget Nominee Tanden Withdraws Nomination Amid Opposition
Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), appears beofre a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn her nomination after she faced opposition from key Democratic and Republican senators for her controversial tweets. 

Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden’s nominees. Thirteen of the 23 Cabinet nominees requiring Senate approval have been confirmed, most with strong bipartisan support. 

“Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities,” Tanden wrote in a letter to Biden. The president, in a statement, said he has “utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel” and pledged to find her another role in his administration. 

Tanden’s viability was in doubt after Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and a number of moderate Republicans came out against her last month, all citing her tweets attacking members of both parties prior to her nomination.  

Manchin, a key moderate swing vote in the Senate, said last month in a statement announcing his opposition that “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.” Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, meanwhile, cited Biden’s own standard of conduct in opposing Tanden, declaring in a statement that “her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.” 

Tanden needed just 51 votes in an evenly-divided Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as a tiebreaker. But without Manchin’s support, the White House was left scrambling to find a Republican to support her.  

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was seen as the last Republican holdout open to supporting Tanden, said Tuesday night that she never told the White House she was a no vote on Tanden, and that the administration never asked. But her support was believed to be key to Tanden’s nomination after a number of other centrist Republicans came out against her, and Murkowski met with the nominee this week.  

Murkowski told reporters she had asked Tanden, as she does all the nominees, to understand the challenges the Biden administration’s policies are having on Alaska, where the economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas drilling and related activities. 

“I have walked each and every one of them through these priorities, these challenges that we’re facing right now as, as, Alaskans, and I’m saying, what can you do to help me?” Murkowski said. “Because we’ve got an industry that is that is really in a fragile position right now because of the administration executive orders.” 

The White House stuck with Tanden even after a number of centrist Republicans made their opposition known, insisting her experience growing up on welfare and background working on progressive policies as the president and CEO of the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress made her the right candidate for the moment. White House chief of staff Ron Klain initially insisted the administration was “fighting our guts out” for her. 

Tanden faced pointed questions over her past comments about members from both parties during her confirmation hearing. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and prominent progressive lawmaker, accused her of issuing “vicious attacks” against progressives, and hadn’t said whether he’d support her nomination. 

Tanden apologized during that hearing to “people on either the left or right who are hurt by what I’ve said.” Just prior to the hearing, she deleted hundreds of tweets, many of which were critical of Republicans. 

Collins cited those deleted tweets in her statement, saying that the move “raises concerns about her commitment to transparency.” She said Congress “has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent.” 

As recently as Monday, the White House indicated it was sticking by Tanden’s nomination, with press secretary Jen Psaki noting Tanden’s “decades of experience” in defending their pick.  

“We will continue of course to fight for the confirmation of every nominee that the president puts forward,” Psaki insisted, but she added, “We’ll see if we have 50 votes.” 

A leading advocate for Tanden, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., the chair of the Congressional Asian and Pacific American Caucus, called the withdrawal a “tragedy” that leaves the Cabinet with just one Asian American member. 

“We expect the highest levels of professionalism and civility from our leaders in government, which is precisely what Neera displayed in taking responsibility for her past comments and committing to a change in tone. I’m disappointed that such a qualified candidate was subject to such a negative double standard,” Chu said. 

The head of the Office of Management and Budget is tasked with putting together the administration’s budget, as well as overseeing a wide range of logistical and regulatory issues across the federal government. 

Tanden’s withdrawal leaves the Biden administration without a clear replacement. The apparent front-runner on Capitol Hill to replace Tanden was Shalanda Young, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee who has been actively pushed by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.  

Other names mentioned include Ann O’Leary, a former chief of staff for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Gene Sperling, who served as a top economic adviser to both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. 

——— 

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting. 

A+
a-
  • Joe Biden
  • Joe Manchin
  • Neera Tanden
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    March 28, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Silicon Valley-Based Firm Launches ‘Radar as a Service’

    BELMONT, Calif. — At first the idea sounds about as un-Silicon Valley as one can get. After all, the basic... Read More

    BELMONT, Calif. — At first the idea sounds about as un-Silicon Valley as one can get. After all, the basic concept underlying radar was proven in 1886, when a German physicist named Heinrich Hertz showed that radio waves could be reflected from solid objects. And the... Read More

    New Poll Results Show Americans Are Concerned About Political Division and What Can Be Done to Fix It

    As we head into this election year with a likely rematch between two relatively unpopular candidates, it may seem political divisions... Read More

    As we head into this election year with a likely rematch between two relatively unpopular candidates, it may seem political divisions are higher than ever. Many controversial issues like immigration, taxes and debate over foreign aid dominate the news, so much so that many Americans may think... Read More

    March 28, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Elections Task Force Prosecutes 2020 ‘Vigilantes,’ Seeks More Civic Dialogue

    PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to... Read More

    PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to an Arizona election official. The sentencing of Joshua Russell, of Bucyrus, Ohio, came after he pleaded guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication.... Read More

    March 28, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Disney World Settles with Florida After Its Opposition to 'Don’t Say Gay' Law

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis... Read More

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who were exerting controversial regulatory control over the huge tourism complex. The settlement resolves some of the disputes that arose after Disney officials publicly denounced the... Read More

    Biden Announcing New Rule to Protect Consumers Who Purchase Short-Term Health Insurance Plans

    President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A... Read More

    President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A new rule finalized by the Democratic president's administration will limit these plans to just three months. And the plans can only be renewed for a maximum... Read More

    US Changes How It Categorizes People by Race and Ethnicity. It's the First Revision in 27 Years

    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and... Read More

    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. The revisions... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top