Joe Biden’s newest cabinet pick is so radical that even Democrats are turning on her. On February 19, a prominent Democrat announced that he will be opposing the nomination of Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget.
Bipartisan Rejection
With the balance of power in the Senate being 50-50, even losing one Democrat senator’s vote will destroy a nominee’s chances at being confirmed.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who is known as the most moderate Democrat in Congress, has announced his opposition to Neera Tanden’s nomination.
The main reason behind opposition to Tanden is her social media history, as several senators on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about her radical posts.
“I have carefully reviewed Nerra 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,” Manchin said in a statement. “I believe her overly 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. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”
“As I have said before, we must take meaningful steps to end the political division and dysfunction that pervades our politics. At a time of grave crisis, it is more important than ever that we chart a new bipartisan course that helps address the many serious challenges our nation is facing,” he added.
Tanden, a Clinton ally and the president of the far-left Center for American Progress, was attacked from both sides from the moment she was nominated. Even CNN had to report on her past, noting that she deleted nearly 1,000 tweets when preparing for her nomination, including a post accusing Republican Senator Susan Collins and former Republican Senator Jeff Flake of being “criminally ignorant.”
Criticism from Lawmakers
During her nomination hearings, Tanden was called out several times by both Democrats and Republicans for her partisan social media posts.
Republican Senator John Kennedy stated during his questioning that Tanden had basically called Senator Bernie Sanders “everything but an ignorant slut.” Kennedy went on to ask her nearly a dozen different times if she meant all of the things she said about other politicians on her social media.
Tanden tried, and failed, to deflect these questions. She eventually was forced to respond. “Senator, I must have meant them, but I really regret them,” Tanden said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a ranking member of the budget committee, called Tanden a “very partisan figure.” He also noted that she referred to Senator Mitch McConnell as “Moscow Mitch,” and accused the GOP of having a “capacity for evil” that “knows no bounds.”
These don’t seem like the kind of comments that someone in charge of the Office of Management and Budget should be making.
Even socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, who is chairman of the budget committee, called Tanden out for her behavior.
Responding to Sanders, Tanden stated: “I recognize that my language and my expressions on social media caused hurt to people, and I feel badly about that, and I really regret it, and I recognize it’s really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others, and I look forward to taking that burden, and I apologize to people on either the Left or Right who are hurt by what I’ve said.”
Looking to RINOs
Losing the vote of Senator Joe Manchin may tank Tanden’s hopes of being confirmed, but many have begun to look to RINOs in the Senate to make up for the loss. Unfortunately for Tanden, that may not be possible. Even Mitt Romney, who seems to try so hard to get Democrats to like him, has announced he will not be supporting Joe Biden‘s cabinet pick.
A spokeswoman for Romney announced that he “believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.”
Another RINO, Senator Susan Collins, issued a statement about her decision not to support the nominee, which read: “Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency… Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.”
Tanden has tried to apologize for her behavior, but it seems that no one believes that she meant it.
“I recognize that my language and my expressions on social media caused hurt to people, and I feel badly about that. I really regret it, and I recognize it’s really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others, and I look forward to taking that burden, and I apologize to people on either the Left or Right who are hurt by what I’ve said,” Tanden said.
“Social media does lead to too many personal comments, and my approach will be radically different,” she added.
Despite the setback, the Biden administration doesn’t seem to be backing down. Many have suggested he should reconsider his cabinet pick, but it appears Joe Biden isn’t going to change his mind.