Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced Friday he will oppose President Joe Biden’s nomination of Neera Tanden for the director of the Office of Management and Budget, making it difficult for her to be confirmed owing to the resistance from Republicans.
After Biden tapped Tanden, there was an uproar among members of GOP over her past tweets that took a dig at several Republican senators. The Republicans believed such a stiff partisan outlook makes her unfit for the job that often requires interacting with lawmakers from all spheres.
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In a brief statement, Manchin said he agrees with the assessment, citing her tweets as his reason for opposing her.
“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. 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,” Manchin said in a statement.
“For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”
With Manchin’s announcement, Tanden’s nomination is in jeopardy and unless a Republican senator comes forward to support her, it’s unlikely that she will be confirmed for the job.
Although Democrats control the White House even with a 50-50 Senate, as Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties, without Manchin’s support, Democrats won’t have the votes on their own.
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“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,” Manchin said.
At her confirmation hearing, Republican senators read aloud her tweets terming Sen. Susan Collins “the worst,” Sen. Tom Cotton “a fraud,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “Voldemort,” and one saying that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.”
However, Tanden has apologized several times during her confirmation hearings and said she regretted the tweets.