The fake outrage machine has claimed a scalp.
The White House announced on Tuesday evening that Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s pick for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, had withdrawn her likely doomed nomination.
In a letter released by the White House, Tanden told the President that being considered for the role was an “honor of a lifetime.”
“I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation,” she wrote. “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.”
Biden said in a statement that he had accepted Tanden’s withdrawal and that the now-former nominee would be given a different spot in the administration.
“I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my Administration,” he said. “She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.”
The White House struggled for over a week to find the votes needed to push Tanden’s confirmation through the Senate after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) sided with GOP senators in their outrage over her inflammatory tweets about Republicans and announced he would vote against her appointment.
The conservative Democrat’s opposition to Tanden left the White House scrambling for unlikely support from the other side of the aisle, even though most moderate Republican senators like Susan Collins (R-ME) also came out against her.
Republican senators’ anger over Tanden’s Twitter activity raised eyebrows given their flat acceptance of ex-President Donald Trump’s abusive tweets throughout his presidency before his account was permanently suspended. Manchin also came under fire for opposing Tanden on those same grounds despite having voted for Richard Grenell, a Trump appointee and Twitter troll.
Throughout the battle, the White House insisted, even as recently as Sunday, that it had not given up on Tanden’s nomination.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) seemed to be the White House’s last hope before Tanden dropped out. After Tanden’s withdrawal on Tuesday evening, the Alaska Republican told the Hill that she had not told the White House that she would vote against the nominee and that Biden’s team “never asked” what her vote would be.
Punchbowl reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) boosted Shalanda Young, a congressional aide who has been nominated as deputy OMB director, as the new nominee for the director role hours after Tanden dropped out. Democratic House leadership had reportedly been campaigning for Young since at least last week.
