With the Senate split 50-50, President Joe Biden will need every single Democrat to be on board to have enough votes to see controversial nominees confirmed or legislation passed.
It appears that likely won’t be the case for Biden’s nominee for the director of the Office of Management and Budget, as moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he does not support the highly-partisan nominee Neera Tanden, Breitbart reported.
Vicious defender of the Democratic establishment
While Tanden isn’t necessarily a far-left progressive with socialist ideals, she is a viciously partisan defender of the Democratic establishment who has lashed out against both Republicans and far-left Democrats who don’t align with her liberal orthodoxy.
A longtime Democratic operative and formerly the president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress, Tanden has a long history of making highly inflammatory and polarizing comments against anyone who stands in the way of her agenda.
That history of attacks against opponents and rivals on both sides of the aisle was too much for Manchin to ignore in considering Tanden’s nomination for what is supposed to be a largely nonpartisan position in the federal government.
“I cannot support her nomination”
Manchin said in a statement Friday, “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.”
He continued, “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. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”
“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,” the West Virginia Democrat added.
Biden continues to stand behind Tanden
Manchin’s decision not to support Tanden’s confirmation means her nomination is likely doomed to fail.
Nevertheless, despite the news that Manchin won’t support Tanden’s nomination, Biden is refusing to replace her with another nominee, instead telling reporters, “I think we are going to find the votes to get her confirmed,” Fox News reported.
The White House also issued a statement that read: “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.”
Given Manchin’s decision not to support Tanden, and assuming no other Democrats follow suit in withdrawing their support, at least one Republican would have to vote for her in order to reach a 50-50 tie that could then be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The post Joe Manchin says he doesn’t support Biden’s nomination of Neera Tanden for OMB first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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