Joe Biden claims there is STILL a 'good shot' of getting budget pick Neera Tanden confirmed despite another Republican senator coming out against her
Joe Biden still believes there is a 'good shot' that Neera Tanden, his pick for head of the Office of Management and Budget, will be confirmed despite Joe Manchin effectively sinking her chances by announcing he will vote against the nominee.
'We're going to push. We still think there's a shot, a good shot,' Biden said at the end of a round table at the White House on Tuesday when asked about his confidence in Tanden's nomination.
West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito became the latest Republican moderate to announce Tuesday that she will not cross the party line to help get Tanden confirmed in the midst of controversy surrounding her previous tweets attacking lawmakers.
Capito joined her West Virginia Democratic colleague Manchin as well as Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins in coming out against the budget nominee.
Tanden's nomination is expected to move out of committee on Wednesday and a subsequent vote will be held on her confirmation, which, as it stands, will almost assuredly fail.
With Manchin's opposition, Democrats need one Republican to vote in favor of Tanden's nomination to get her on Biden's cabinet as a permanent fixture.
Joe Biden is still optimistic that his Office of Management and Budget pick Neera Tanden can get confirmed. 'We're going to push. We still think there's a shot, a good shot,' Biden said at the conclusion of a round table at the White House on Tuesday
Tanden's confirmation will likely fail as another moderate Republican came out against her Tuesday after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Friday he would not support her nomination
One last hope could be Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowkski, a moderate who voted for Trump's impeachment conviction earlier this month along with fellow Republicans Romney, Collins and four others.
But the senator has remained undecided – or at least kept her thinking on the matter to herself.
'When do you expect to make a decision on the Tanden nomination,' a reporter asked Murkowski at the Capitol Tuesday.
'Well, she's supposed to move out of committee today, is that right?' the Alaska Republican posed.
'Tomorrow.'
'Well, I've got time then,' she shot back.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden has been working those on Capitol Hill to try and garner some Republican support for Tanden. She said he has held talks with dozens of senators on Tanden's nomination.
Psaki also said Biden's confidence in Tanden to run the OMB has not changed despite revelations of transparency and unity issues related to her deleting more than 1,000 tweets personally attacking lawmakers before she was nominated to a cabinet post.
Tanden, during her confirmation hearing earlier this month, apologized for her previous tweets.
In her tenure, Tanden has served as a staffer to Hillary Clinton since her 2000 election to the Senate and later in her 2008 presidential run, and again in 2016 when Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination and was ultimately bested by Donald Trump.
Tanden also helped draft the Affordable Care Act during Barack Obama's presidency.
Earlier this month, Tanden appeared before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee the next day. During those hearings, she repeatedly expressed remorse for her Twitter activity.
She said she deleted the tweets because she did not agree with the tone.
Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito said Tuesday that she will vote against Tanden's nomination – joining fellow West Virginia centrist Manchin in backlash following revelations of a slew of tweets from Tanden attacking fellow lawmakers
Female Democratic lawmakers are accusing Manchin of a 'double standard' after coming out against Tanden and separately expressing doubt Monday over Interior secretary nominee Deb Haaland – yet supporting Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.
'There's a double standard going on,' California Representative Judy Chu told Politico Monday. 'Her nomination is very significant for us Asian American and Pacific Islanders.'
'I do believe that this double standard has to do with the fact that she would be a pioneer in that position,' the head of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus continued of Tanden, the daughter of immigrants from India.
Joe Biden nominated New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland to head the Department of the Interior. A confirmation hearing for the Native American Democratic lawmaker will be held Tuesday.
Manchin expressed Monday he is undecided on whether he will vote to confirm Haaland – to the ire of progressive female lawmakers.
'Jeff Sessions was so openly racist that even Reagan couldn't appoint him,' Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter Monday. 'Manchin voted to confirm him. Sessions then targeted immigrant children for wide-scale human rights abuses w/ family separation.'
She added: 'Yet the 1st Native woman to be Cabinet Sec is where Manchin finds unease?'
Manchin's hesitancy toward Haaland came after he announced Friday he would vote against Tanden's nomination to head the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii listed Tanden, Haaland and Health and Human Services pick Xavier Becerra as nominees 'being scrutinized more heavily.'
'There seems to be a pattern here,' Hirono said of the minority picks for cabinet positions, adding that if Tanden's nomination falls, Biden's nominee for trade representative, Katherine Tai, would be the 'the only Asian woman in the Cabinet.'
!['There's a double standard going on,' California Rep. Judy Chu said. 'Her [Tanden's] nomination is very significant for us Asian American and Pacific Islanders'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/02/23/13/39665826-9290833-image-a-9_1614087497175.jpg)
Female Democratic lawmakers are lashing out at their male colleagues, including Manchin, for a 'double standard' in opposing Joe Biden's female, minority picks for his cabinet but voting in favor of some of Trump's controversial nominees
Manchin expressed Monday he has doubt about confirming Rep. Deb Haaland (pictured), a Native American representative for New Mexico, as secretary of the Interior
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Manchin for voting to confirm 'openly racist' Jeff Sessions as Trump's attorney general, but now saying he could object the nomination of the '1st Native woman to be Cabinet Sec'
Manchin, a centrist Democrat, wields a lot of power in the 50-50 split Senate where he essentially has 'veto power'
Following Manchin's opposition to Tanden's nomination, which effectively killed her chances of confirmation, two key Republican senators, who often skirt the party line, followed suit – Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine.
Many of the lawmakers, including Manchin, who object to Tanden's slew of objectionable tweets toward lawmakers, voted to confirm Trump's pick for ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, among others with a history of harsh rhetoric and personal attacks.
Conservative media figure who served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle in the George H. W. Bush administration Bill Kristol told the Washington Post: 'I feel like there's a little bit of sexism going on here.'
'It just seems like these tweets sound harsher to these old guys because they're coming from a woman,' he continued.
'We can disagree with her tweets, but in the past, Trump nominees that they've confirmed and supported had much more serious issues and conflicts than just something that was written on Twitter,' Democratic Representative Grace Mengof New York said.
'This is not just about any one nominee like Neera, or whoever else — it's just about this pattern that is happening and increasingly hard to ignore,' she added.
Manchin announced on Friday that he would oppose Tanden running OMB, citing the 'toxic' impact of her tweets insulting fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Then on Monday the West Virginia centrist Democrat revealed he is undecided about Haalan, who will appear before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Manchin chairs, for her confirmation hearing Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Manchin said Monday that the senator and Haaland met over Zoom to discuss her nomination.
Manchin's opposition to Tanden could sink her nomination unless Biden can find a Republican to support Tanden, who Manchin faulted for overly partisan statements.
It was the first major party defection of the young Biden administration, although it notably came from a centrist lawmaker who voted with his party on convicting Trump of inciting the Capitol riot and plans to vote for Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
The Office of Management and Budget touches on nearly every aspect of major policy.
Mitt Romney and Susan Collins, both moderate Republican senators, announced Monday they will vote against Tanden's nomination.
'The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden,' Collins, who represents Maine, released in a statement Monday morning.
A spokesperson for Romney released a statement Monday saying: 'Senator Romney has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees, and this is consistent with that position. He believes it's hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.'
Tanden in a now-deleted tweet called Collins 'the worst' and attacked her in another tweet for her questioning of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing.
'Susan Collins' terrible treatment of Dr. Ford should haunt Collins the rest of her days,' Tanden tweeted during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, when Blasey Ford raised allegations against him.
She also deleted a slew of other offensive tweets aimed at lawmakers from both parties.
The White House, however, is not backing down on Tanden's nomination – instead bolstering support for her confirmation.
'Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes this week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
With a 50-50 split Senate, Manchin defecting means Democrats now need one Republican senator to cross the line. But they won't be able to count on Collins or Romney for that.
Moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine (left) and Mitt Romney of Utah (right) said Monday they will vote against confirming Tanden
Tanden deleted more than 1,000 tweets with harsh messages for Republican lawmakers, including calling Collins 'the worst' in the midst of the contentious confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kvanaugh
In a now-deleted tweet, Tanden attacked the Maine senator for her questioning of Kavanaugh's accuser
Collins and Romney are two of the few Republican senators who occasionally voted with Democrats – most recently both voted in favor of Donald Trump's impeachment conviction.
No other Democrats have said if they plan to vote against Tanden's nomination. Her best hope for a successful confirmation lies with gaining support from Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both moderate Republicans who also voted for Trump's conviction earlier this month.
Manchin and Collins are close. In 2020, the West Virginia senator endorsed Collins' reelection and they also worked together on the most recent COVID-19 relief package.
Manchin has also entertained moderates, including Collins, on 'Almost Heaven' – his houseboat docked in the Potomac.
In the 2020 election, the Senate became split down the middle giving any Democratic defector veto power over legislation they don't like and effectively making moderate Manchin the most influential lawmaker in the upper chamber.
The White House is sticking by Tanden despite revelations of her deleting a slew of tweets attacking Republican lawmakers. Biden does not plan to withdraw her nomination.
'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,' Collins wrote in her statement denouncing Biden's pick. '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.'
'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,' she continued.
'Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the Director will be forthcoming.'
Tanden, Biden's nominee for Director of the OMB was revealed to delete harmful tweets upon news of her nomination
In announcing his opposition to Tanden's nomination, Manchin cited the 'toxic' impact of her tweets insulting fellow lawmakers.
Biden told reporters as he returned to Washington from a trip to Michigan Thursday he was not pulling her nomination.
'I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed,' he said.
Tanden has been criticized by Republicans over her past harsh comments on social media, such as calling Mitch McConnell, the party's leader in the Senate, 'Moscow Mitch' and saying 'vampires have more heart than (Senator) Ted Cruz.'
'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,' Manchin said in a statement.
Tanden has tangled with Democratic socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Budget Committee
Tanden's comments have made adversaries on the right and the left
'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,' he said.
Many Democrats scoffed at such concerns, noting near-unanimous Republican support for former President Donald Trump, who was accused of inciting a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol partly via inflammatory comments on Twitter and was known for blasting those he saw as opponents - particularly women - as 'nasty' or criminals who should be locked up.
Manchin cited Tanden's 'public statements and tweets' in his decision not to confirm.
If every Senate Democrat supported Tanden, she could have been confirmed without Republican votes since Democrats control 50 seats in the chamber and Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie.
Tanden has a limited number of Republicans who might bail out her nomination. Just seven GOP senators voted to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial.
She already burned a bridge with Collins.
'I recognize the concern. I deeply regret and apologize for my language, and some of my past language,' Tanden said at her confirmation hearing.
When Biden picked Tanden, chief executive of the left-leaning Center for American Progress think tank in Washington, Republicans pointed to her past strong comments on Twitter, such as referring to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as 'Moscow Mitch' and saying 'vampires have more heart than (Senator) Ted Cruz.'
Tanden referred to GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as 'Voldemort' in one tweet
Following reports that she regretted 1,000 tweets, Tanden said she did so 'because I regretted the tone.'
As OMB head she will interact with Senate Budget chair Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who reminded her of their past at her hearing.
'Your attacks were not just made against Republicans. There were vicious attacks made against progressives, people who I have worked with, me personally,' he told her.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina read one of them, which referenced the bitter 2016 nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Sanders.
'Russia did a lot more to help Bernie than the DNC's random internal e-mails did to help Hillary,' Tanden wrote, siding with Clinton.
In addition to calling Cruz a vampire, she once referred to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 'Voldemort' from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
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