Neera Tanden (born September 10, 1970) is an American political consultant and former government official. She is the president of the Center for American Progress, where she has served in different capacities since 2003.
Tanden has worked on several Democratic presidential campaigns, including those of Michael Dukakis in 1988, Bill Clinton in 1992, and Barack Obama in 2008. Tanden advised Hillary Clinton's successful 2016 primary campaign and unsuccessful 2016 general election campaign. She was also a senior staffer on Clinton's unsuccessful campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination. During the Obama administration, Tanden helped draft the Affordable Care Act.
On November 30, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Tanden as the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, subject to Senate approval (Wikpedia).
Sen. Manchin said in a statement after reviewing Neera Tanden's public statements and tweets that were "personally directed" toward his Senate colleagues, he would oppose her nomination to run the powerful office.
Manchin has called himself a "moderate conservative Democrat" and is often cited as the most conservative Democrat in the Senate. West Virginia has become a state that primarily elects Republicans, but Manchin has continued to see electoral success. He won the 2004 gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008; in both years, Republican presidential candidates won West Virginia. Manchin won the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd's death with 54% of the vote. He was elected to a full term in 2012 with 61% of the vote and reelected in 2018 with just under 50% of the vote. He became the state's senior U.S. Senator when Jay Rockefeller retired in 2015.
As a member of Congress, Manchin is known for his support of bipartisanship, voting or working with Republicans on issues such as abortion and gun ownership. He opposed the energy policies of President Barack Obama, voted against cloture for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (he did not vote on the bill itself), voted to remove federal funding for Planned Parenthood in 2015, supported President Donald Trump's immigration policies and voted to confirm most of his cabinet and judicial appointees, including Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But Manchin has also repeatedly voted against attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), voted to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood in 2017, and voted against the 2017 Republican tax plan. He vocally opposes policy proposals from the progressive wing of his party, including Medicare For All, abolishing the filibuster, increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court, increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and attempts to cut police funding. He has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and opposed most military interventions in Syria.
As of 2021, Manchin is the only Democrat holding statewide office in West Virginia. After the 2020 elections, he became a swing vote in a 50-50 Democratic-controlled Senate (Wikipedia).
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Joe Manchin, a key Democratic senator, says he'll oppose Biden's nominee for budget chief, putting nomination in jeopardy
WASHINGTON – Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a key moderate Democrat, announced Friday he would oppose President Joe Biden's nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, throwing her nomination into jeopardy.
Manchin said in a statement after reviewing Neera Tanden's public statements and tweets that were "personally directed" toward his Senate colleagues, he would oppose her nomination to run the powerful office.
"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," he said.
Although a final Senate vote on Tanden's nomination has yet been scheduled, Manchin's opposition could scuttle her confirmation because of the Senate's 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats. She would need to pick up at least one vote from a Republican and for Vice President Kamala Harris to break a potential tie to secure the simple majority needed for confirmation.
The White House signaled it would press ahead with Tanden's confirmation.
"Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties," press secretary Jennifer Psaki said.
Asked by reporters if he would pull Tanden's nomination from consideration, Biden said "no."
“I think we are going to find the votes to get her confirmed,” he said. It is unclear which Republican senators might vote for Tanden, many of whom took offense to her older social media posts and statements criticizing them.
The Senate Budget Committee is set to vote on Tanden's nomination next week in advance of a full floor vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the committee's chairman, was noncommital on Tanden's nomination in a Friday evening CNN interview, saying he would talk to Tanden "early next week."
More: Bernie Sanders presses budget pick Neera Tanden on Twitter attacks against him and others
Tanden, the former head of the liberal Center for American Progress, had taken heat during the confirmation process for past statements on social media that sometimes strayed into personal attacks on lawmakers.
During her confirmation hearings before the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Tanden apologized for her past remarks.
"My language and my expressions on social media caused hurt to people, and I feel badly about that. And I really regret it and I recognize that it's really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others," she told the Budget Committee earlier this month. "I would say social media does lead to too many personal comments and my approach will be radically different."
Contributing: Courtney Subramanian and Joey Garrison
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Manchin says he'll oppose Biden Neera Tanden budget nomination
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