BREAKING: Biden White House Withdraws Neera Tanden's Nomination for OMB

By Jennifer Oliver O'Connell | 7:45 PM on March 02, 2021

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The Biden Administration just announced that Neera Tanden has withdrawn her nomination for Office of Management and Budget.

Biden statement on pulling Neera Tanden’s nomination to OMB: pic.twitter.com/lekwGUhRqF

— Amanda Becker (@AmandaBecker) March 2, 2021

From The Hill:

Neera Tanden has withdrawn her nomination to head President Biden‘s White House budget office after her prospects of Senate confirmation flamed out.

The White House made the announcement on Tuesday evening.

Tanden, who would have been the first woman of color to lead the Office of Management and Budget, faced scrutiny over mean tweets she had written about Republicans and progressive Democrats alike in her previous role heading the Center for American Progress think tank.

In the tweets, many which were deleted in recent months, Tanden compared Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to a vampire, and insinuated that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) benefited from Russian hacking in the 2016 election.

In two confirmation hearings, she repeatedly apologized for the tweets, and promised to strike a more collegial tone as a member of the administration.

There are not many dry eyes over this.

The reason to celebrate the end of Neera Tanden’s nomination has nothing to do with her late-night out-of-control rage-tweeting and everything to do with her record.

She is not a victim — she is a perpetrator. https://t.co/clrnPkwouJ

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) March 2, 2021

Tanden’s nomination began to unravel when Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) withdrew his support. With a 50-50 Senate, that would require one of the so-called “centrist” Republicans to support her. Since Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) both felt the ire of Tanden’s mean tweets when she was head of the Center for American Progress, they were also non-starters. In the past, Tanden had even attacked progressive Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), saying he benefited from Russia’s hacking of the 2016 election.

Tanden deleted thousands of tweets before and during her confirmation hearings. She was grilled heavily about her adversarial discourse, for which she repeatedly apologized, promising that since she was to be a part of the Biden administration, she would strive to strike a more collegial tone.

However, with such a tight margin in the Senate, it appeared to be an uphill battle. Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s declared on last Thursday’s The View that the White House would fight for Tanden’s nomination:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday insisted that President Biden’s aides “are fighting our hearts out” to get Neera Tanden confirmed as White House budget director — despite the long odds due to her past vitriolic attacks on senators. […]

“We are fighting our hearts out for Neera Tanden,” Psaki said in an appearance on “The View.”

Despite this show of support, Tanden withdrew her name from consideration.

Tanden’s defenders are decrying the racism and sexism resident in the decision.

Live updates: White House withdraws Tanden nomination

Guess those hypocrites from the GQP, along with Manchin, have no shame in being openly misogynistic & racist. D’s need to pour money into a winnable candidate that can win in WV.
Can’t unite, be gone! https://t.co/hswhb1mmbc

— Branka Jovic (@branka_jovic) March 3, 2021