Sen. Joe Manchin announced that he will vote against Neera Tanden’s confirmation to be President Biden’s budget director in a major blow to one of the most controversial Biden Cabinet nominations.
“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,” the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement Friday. “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.”
“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 facing our nation.”
In the 50-50 divided Senate, Manchin’s opposition to Tanden could kill her nomination unless at least one Republican steps forward to save her.
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Manchin’s move cements his status as arguably the most powerful Democrat in the Senate, hailing from a state former President Donald Trump twice carried by landslide margins. Manchin’s rejection of Tanden could be seen as an implicit rebuke of Biden, who promised centrists he would be an institutionalist and a unifying force.
In confirmation hearings last week, Tanden, president of the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress, faced sharp questioning over her plethora of tweets and for corporate donations to the think tank.
During the hearing, she expressed remorse about the tweets.
“I know there have been some concerns about some of my past language on social media, and I regret that language and take responsibility for it,” she told lawmakers.
Among her objectionable tweets were the times she called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch” and “Voldemort.”
As a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries, she also directed her Twitter ire against Sen. Bernie Sanders and his voters.
Sanders is now chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, which is vetting her nomination.
“Your attacks were not just made against Republicans. There were vicious attacks made against progressives, people who I have worked with, me personally,” Sanders said, reprimanding Tanden. He had written in a 2019 letter to her think tank that Tanden was guilty of “maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.”
“You called Sanders everything but an ignorant slut,” said Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican.
“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 that it’s really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others,” she said. “I would say social media does lead to too many personal comments, and my approach will be radically different.”
The White House reaffirmed its support for Tanden on Friday evening. Asked by the press pool whether he was going to pull her nomination, Biden replied, “No.” He later added, “I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed.”
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“Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
