Biden Administration Stands by Neera Tanden After Manchin Says He’ll Vote Against Confirmation

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President Joe Biden is standing by his nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden, as her nomination is facing opposition from a divided Senate, telling reporters that he is still hopeful he can find the votes to get her confirmed.

A longtime political operative, Tanden has worked on multiple Democratic presidential campaigns, and has served as president of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress since 2011.

After Biden announced her nomination in late November, Tanden deleted more than 1,000 tweets, many of which contained partisan or political insults. She was intensely questioned about her tweets at her confirmation hearing, and repeatedly said that she regretted her tone and apologized.

Earlier Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that he would oppose Tanden’s nomination, citing his belief that “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.”

With control of the Senate evenly divided between the parties after the Democrats won Georgia’s two Senate seats in a January special election, Manchin’s opposition could signal doom for Tanden’s chances, but Friday afternoon, the White House was still backing her.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called Tanden “an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director” and indicated that they were looking forward to the committee votes next week and continuing to support her nomination.

WH press secretary Jen Psaki: “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.”

— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) February 19, 2021

Biden spoke to pool reporters at Joint Base Andrews after his trip to a Pfizer vaccine facility in Michigan, and was asked if he were planning to pull Tanden’s nomination. Biden answered with a direct, “No,” and then added “I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed.”

Just now, @POTUS tells pool reporters he’s not going to pull the @neeratanden nomination and hopes to get her through. (h/t @stevenportnoy)

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) February 19, 2021

Asked if he was going to pull Neera Tanden’s nomination, President Biden, said “No.”

He added, “I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed.”

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) February 19, 2021