tanden’s-omb-confirmation-on-brink-of-collapse-after-two-gop-senators-say-they-won’t-support-her-nomination

Tanden’s OMB confirmation on brink of collapse after two GOP senators say they won’t support her nomination

Politics

Washington (CNN)The confirmation of Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget is on the brink of collapse after two key Republicans announced Monday that they will vote against her nomination, citing her past social media behavior.

Tanden’s nomination in the evenly split Senate was jeopardized late last week when Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not support her, making her confirmation dependent on attracting at least one Republican vote.

But two Republicans who were viewed as potential swing votes, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, declared Monday they will not support her. The White House has publicly defended Tanden’s nomination, but sources have told CNN talks are underway about possible replacements.

In a statement, Collins cited Tanden’s “past actions” that she says demonstrated animosity and said the OMB nominee does not have the “experience nor the temperament” to lead the office.

    “Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent,” Collins said. “Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.”

    Neera Tanden to keep reaching out to senators next week as confirmation in jeopardy

    Collins continued that Tanden’s deletion of tweets before her confirmation was announced “raises concerns about her commitment to transparency.”

    A spokeswoman for Romney said he could not support Tanden and what he believes to be her divisiveness.

    “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 said in a statement.

    Democrats hold the Senate by a 50-50 margin, and Manchin’s announcement was seen as devastating for her chances. Another Republican who is seen as a potential swing vote, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has not yet indicated how she will vote.

    Manchin said last week he would vote against Tanden because of her past criticisms on social media about Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he is working with President Joe Biden to gather support to confirm Tandem. The President has said he does not intend to pull Tanden’s nomination, and a White House official said it is still engaging members to try and find votes for her confirmation.

    White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated support for Tanden’s nomination in a tweet on Monday.

    “Neera Tanden=accomplished policy expert, would be 1st Asian American woman to lead OMB, has lived experience having benefitted from a number of federal programs as a kid, looking ahead to the committee votes this week and continuing to work toward her confirmation,” Psaki wrote.

    Behind the scenes, the White House is lobbying lawmakers who haven’t said which way they’ll vote but are fully aware of the uphill battle Tanden is facing, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations.

    There is still a chance that Tanden withdraws on her own and White House officials are also discussing possible replacements, officials said.

    Names being discussed include Ann O’Leary, who resigned in December as chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former national economic adviser Gene Sperling and John Jones, the former chief of staff to Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver who has worked extensively with the Congressional Black Caucus.

      Another likely contender is Shalanda Young, whom Biden nominated to serve as deputy OMB director and has worked with the House Appropriations Committee.

      This story has been updated with Romney’s announcement and additional reporting.

      CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, Jeff Zeleny, Kaitlan Collins and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.