The White House isn’t backing down on supporting embattled Office of Management and Budget pick Neera Tanden as her nomination is under threat of being derailed by bipartisan opposition.
A White House spokeswoman says Tanden remains the only candidate that the administration is considering for the job, and she hasn’t offered to withdraw her nomination as senators from both parties raise concerns about her often-harsh online comments about Republicans and Democrats, as well as the corporate donations she secured while running a liberal think tank.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tried to tamp down speculation that Tanden’s deputy-designate, Sholanda Young, could step up and replace her.
“That’s not the stage we’re in,” Psaki told reporters Wednesday when asked whether Biden would pull Tanden’s name from contention, not ruling out the possibility entirely.
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Tanden’s confirmation was put in question last week when Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced that he wouldn’t support the nominee. Then, on early Wednesday, both the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee postponed their votes to clear her so her candidacy could move on and receive a full vote on the chamber’s floor.
Psaki wouldn’t concede Wednesday that the delays were a “setback” for Tanden, nor did they would create problems for Biden’s budget proposal or other OMB functions.
During the briefing, Psaki suggested another Democrat, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, backed Tanden. Another potential holdout in the 50-50 split Senate could be Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats and heads the budget panel. Tanden and Sanders have clashed in the past as the Bill and Hillary Clinton ally criticized the socialist’s two presidential campaigns.
“It’s a numbers game. It’s a matter of getting one Republican to support her nomination,” Psaki said.
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Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be the likely deciding Republican vote after fellow centrists Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Mitt Romney of Utah said they wouldn’t endorse Tanden over her partisan rhetoric as the president and CEO of the Center of American Progress.
