President Joe Biden withdrew Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget after opposition from Republicans and centrist Democrat Joe Manchin, The New York Times reports.
“I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. “I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.”
The White House also released Tanden’s letter to Biden asking for him to pull her nomination.
“Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities,” she wrote.
Tanden undone by tweets:
Republicans and Manchin cited Tanden’s tweets attacking Republicans and progressives to oppose her nomination.
“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 last month. “For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”
The White House pressed on, vowing to look for Republican support for Tanden, but came up short.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins likewise cited Tanden’s tweets to argue that she should not lead the agency and expressed concerns over her transparency after she deleted hundreds of tweets following Biden’s win.
Tanden met with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a last-ditch effort to win one vote but the White House pulled her nomination before Murkowski gave them a definitive answer.
New favorite has bipartisan support:
Biden’s backup options to head the budget office include former National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling and Ann O’Leary, the former chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
But former House Appropriations Committee staff director Shalanda Young, who is nominated to be deputy director of OMB, has emerged as a favorite after drawing support from Democratic leaders and Republicans.
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said she “would have my support, and I suspect many of my Republican colleagues would support her as well.”
“Everybody that deals with you on our side has nothing but good things to say,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said during Young’s confirmation hearing. “You might talk me out of voting for you, but I doubt it.”
“You’ll get my support, maybe for both jobs,” he added.
