White House press secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed the Biden administration’s support for Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s embattled nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on Monday.
Psaki told reporters during a daily press briefing that the White House will continue to push for Tanden’s confirmation even after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) pledged to vote against her, throwing Tanden’s odds of getting approved into serious jeopardy.
The White House official said they “disagree” with Manchin and Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) argument that Tanden’s combative tweets about various lawmakers, particularly Republicans, mean the nominee is unqualified to head the agency.
“She has a record of working with people from a range of organizations of different viewpoints,” Psaki said.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) is reportedly slamming the door shut on Tanden as well, with a spokesperson telling Politico that the senator “believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.”
The press secretary rebuffed questions on Biden’s personal feelings about the tweets, reiterating instead the President’s confidence in choosing Tanden for the role.
“We remain committed to moving that process forward to a confirmation,” Psaki said, though she did not offer specifics.
Without Manchin, the White House will need to find one Republican vote to confirm Tanden.
Some of Tanden’s inflammatory tweets included the assertion that Collins is “the worst” and that “vampires have more heart than” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
During one of Tanden’s confirmation hearings last week, the nominee expressed regret over her past language.
