Senator Joe Manchin said Friday that he opposes the nomination of Neera Tanden as budget director for President Biden because of his insult-laden tweets, but Biden says he will not withdraw her.
Biden told reporters when he returned to Washington from a trip to Michigan that he would “not” withdraw Tanden’s nomination, although he can now be rejected in the divided Senate.
Manchin (DW.V.) quoted Tanden’s confrontational tweets to Republicans and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) As chair of the Center for American Progress aligned with the Democratic Party.
“I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets addressed personally to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others,” Manchin said.
“I believe that his openly 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 Budgets. For this reason, I cannot support his nomination. “.
Manchin, a Conservative Democrat who considers himself a critical vote on controversial issues, said “we need to take significant steps to end the political divide and dysfunction that pervades our politics.”
Tanden now requires Republican support to pass the Senate, but has alienated many Conservative lawmakers with personal insults.
But Biden kept his hopes up with Tanden’s candidacy on Friday and told reporters, “I think we will find the votes and confirm it.”
Tanden has recently deleted more than 1,000 of his tweets that attacked Republican Party senators, but also eliminated Sanders ’2016 presidential candidacy as Russia’s option against Hillary Clinton’s party establishment favorite.
Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) reminded him this month, “You wrote that Susan Collins is‘ the worst, ’that Tom Cotton is a fraud, that vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz, who told the leader McConnell “Moscow Mitch” and “Voldemort.”
Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) Joked, “You called Senator Sanders anything but an ignorant bitch.”
If confirmed, Tanden will hold a powerful position to apply Biden’s policies to the entire federal bureaucracy. Under former President Donald Trump, the budget office commissioned agencies to disfavor New York City, Portland and Seattle for federal subsidies for allegedly tolerating increased crime or violent protests.
Tanden is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing from the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday. He already had a confirmation hearing this month before the Senate finance committee, chaired by Sanders.
In addition to her mediocre tweets, Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist, said she is concerned about Tanden asking for millions of dollars in corporate donations to the Center for American Progress.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday evening that “Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent budget director and we hope that the committee’s votes next week will continue to work to confirm- through commitment to both parties. “