The White House is still combating to win confirmation for Neera Tanden, Biden’s nominee for budget director. Moreover, the house is watching some Republicans, who still not clear how they will vote. Whereas a prominent Democratic supporter, Shalanda Young, appeared as a leading alternative for the designation. Young is a former appropriations advisor to House Democratic leaders who lined up to be the deputy at the Office of Management and Budget of Tanden.
According to two sources familiar with the matter, the former director of the National Economic Council under both former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Gene Sperling, is also present as an option in case of Tanden’s nomination fails. The possibility of confirmation of Tanden’s win narrowed more on Tuesday. Shelley Moore Capito, the Republican Senator of West Virginia, settles to vote against the budget nominee.
Capito joins many Republican leaders once took as persuadable against Tanden’s nomination, including Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, and Rob Portman. Together with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, they openly said that they wouldn’t support Tanden over her mean tweets. Joe Boden, the President of the United States, needs just one Republican vote to make up for Manchin for the nomination to succeed. One likely Republican vote in Alaska GOP leader Lisa Murkowski says that she is still not clear.
New: Manchin is opposing Neera Tanden’s nomination for OMB: “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.”
— Marianne LeVine (@marianne_levine) February 19, 2021
Neera Tanden meetings with Senators for support
Tanden met with around forty-four senators and spoken with fifteen since Friday, according to Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary. Psaki said when asked about possible alternatives, she took Neera Tanden’s name to lead the budget department. On the other hand, the White House denied commenting on which senators approached to go ahead with Tanden.
Before the declaration of the nomination of Tanden for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, the Center for American Progress leader maintained an aggressive Twitter account where she criticized and fought with political rivals, sometimes using mocking nicknames, such as Moscow Mitch for Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. She would be the first American of South Asian descent and the first woman of color to hold the budget director job at the White House. However, she is the first nominee of the Biden cabinet who did not enjoy the full support of Democrats in the Senate.
Source: Web
Neera Tanden deleted her more than 1000 tweets
Neera Tanden deleted over one thousand tweets before her nomination – a move that led to Republican allegations she may not be fully transparent as a White House official. The American political consultant promised to take a completely different approach to communicate if confirmed during one of her searing in the Senate.
According to two sources familiar with the process, Ron Klain, the White House Chief of Staff, remains dedicated to fighting for Tanden, but Biden aides are also now considering Sperling and Young as the main backup choices. The fight to save her nomination kicked off in seriousness on Friday, when Manchin announced not to support Tanden’s confirmation.
Young would take to the job the support of Democratic House representatives, who praised her fourteen-year tenure on the House Appropriations Committee. As a woman of color, she would also help the president keep his stated commitment to seek variety within his cabinet.
Sperling would bring to the work wide experience in both economic policies making and the federal government, having worked as the White House NEC head under Clinton and Obama administration. Moreover, Sperling also served as an analyst to Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, during the presidency of Obama. He was deeply involved in the development of the $787 billion stimulus package of Obama in 2009 in addition to the auto-industry bailout.
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