Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus has backed Neera Tanden. (File)
Washington:
Indian-American Neera Tanden’s probabilities of changing into the primary lady of color to move the White House Office of Management of Budget (OMB) seems to be in jeopardy with three Republican senators together with at the least one Democrat saying their resolution to vote in opposition to her Senate affirmation course of later this week, citing her previous social media behaviour.
Ms Tanden reportedly deleted greater than 1,000 tweets earlier than her affirmation course of began. She had apologised to senators throughout her affirmation hearings earlier this month.
White House stated on Monday that it’s taking nothing to probabilities and is reaching out to each the Democrat and Republican senators to get Ms Tanden’s affirmation by the evenly cut up United States Senate.
“We take nothing for granted. And part of our effort is not just reaching out to Republicans — which we certainly are doing, and all of our nominees do as well — but also ensuring that Democrats who have questions, who have any concerns, have their questions answered too. And we take nothing for granted in pushing forward with our nominees,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki informed reporters at her day by day information convention.
Soon thereafter, Republican Senator Rob Portman from Ohio introduced that he would vote in opposition to Ms Tanden, 50, in the course of the affirmation course of.
The two different Senators who’ve already introduced their opposition are Republicans Susan Collins and Mitt Romney. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has already introduced that he’ll vote in opposition to her.
Democrats maintain the Senate by a 50-50 margin, and Manchin’s announcement final week was seen as devastating for her probabilities.
Mr Portman alleged that the tone, the content material, and the aggressive partisanship of a few of Ms Tanden’s public statements will make it tougher for her to work successfully with each events on this position.
“I’m also concerned about her decision to delete thousands of tweets in the month after the election and the lack of transparency in her decision to do so, as well as her lack of experience on key issues for OMB, such as the regulatory and budgeting processes. While the president has the right to choose his own Cabinet, and thus far I have supported all of this administration’s nominees, I will not be supporting the confirmation of Ms. Tanden,” Mr Portman stated.
Mr Portman served as OMB Director below former President George W. Bush. “As a former OMB Director, I know that the OMB Director has to be able to work productively with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle,” he stated.
OMB serves the President of the United States in overseeing the implementation of his imaginative and prescient throughout the manager department.
In a separate assertion, Senator Susan Collins stated that Ms Tanden has neither the expertise nor the temperament to guide this crucial company.
“Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend,” she alleged.
“In addition, Ms Tanden’s decision to delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency. Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the Director will be forthcoming,” she stated.
“The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden,” stated Susan Collins, who had joined the Democrats in the course of the Trump impeachment trial.
Romney, who had supported the Democrats within the Trump impeachment trial, additionally opposed the nomination.
“Senator Romney has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees, and this is consistent with that position. He believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets,” Romney’s press secretary Arielle Mueller stated in an announcement.
President Joe Biden final week stated he wouldn’t pull Ms Tanden’s nomination and has sufficient votes to get her affirmation.
Meanwhile, Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) despatched a letter to all 100 members of the Senate urging them to help Tanden’s affirmation.
“Ms. Tanden’s substantial policy, legislative, and executive branch experience makes her exceptionally qualified to lead the OMB and ensure that our nation”s budgets and programmes reflect our shared values of hard work, fairness, and respect. As a daughter of a single mother who relied on public housing and food stamps to survive, Ms. Tanden understands firsthand the struggles that many Americans face every day and the pivotal role that the government can play in levelling the playing field and creating an economy that works for working families,” wrote the Members.
“Ms. Tanden’s nomination also bears historic significance for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities that we represent. If confirmed, she would be the first Asian American and first woman of colour to lead OMB,” they wrote.
The letter was led by CAPAC Chair Congresswoman Judy Chu and signed by Congressmen Grace Meng, Mark Takano, Ted Lieu, Doris Matsui, Ami Bera, Andy Kim, Raja Kirshnamoorthi, Marilyn Strickland, and Kaiali’i Kahele.
“As a former senior advisor during the Clinton and Obama administrations, a former legislative director in the US Senate, and in her role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress, Ms. Tanden is widely recognised as an expert in domestic, economic, and foreign policy,” they wrote.
