CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Friday he will vote against confirming Neera Tanden as the next Office of Management and Budget director because of her past comments on social media criticizing lawmakers.
“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,” Manchin said in a statement.
Tanden is the current president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress think thank. Her public sector experience includes working in the Clinton and Obama administrations, in which she was a senior advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services during the drafting of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. Tanden also was legislative director for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during Clinton’s tenure as a U.S. senator and involved in Clinton’s 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns.
Tanden has faced criticism from lawmakers over her past use of social media to attack Republican lawmakers as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Tanden apologized for the tweets during separate Senate confirmation hearings this month, and she also promised a different approach if confirmed.
“As I have said before, we must take meaningful steps to end the political division and dysfunction that pervades our politics,” Manchin said. “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’s opposition hurts Tanden’s chances of being confirmed by a Senate evenly split between the Democratic and Republican caucuses.
Following Manchin’s statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Tanden “an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director.”
The Senate Homeland Security and Budget committees are scheduled to vote on Tanden’s nomination next week. Psaki said President Joe Biden and his administration “look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties.”