West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin – an important vote for Senate Democrats, who have a small majority in the House – said on Friday that he would oppose President Biden’s appointment to lead the Office of Administration and Budget over his history on twitter.
Manchin explained in a statement that he believes the candidate – Neera Tanden – will not be a unifying force in the United States’ political sphere.
“I carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally addressed to my colleagues on both sides of the corridor, from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others,” said Manchin. “I believe that your openly partisan statements will have a toxic and damaging impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Administration and Budget. For this reason, I cannot support your appointment.”
MANCHIN INSISTS THAT DON’T VOTE ‘DOWN THE LINE’ FOR COVID’S RELIEF UNLESS THE ACCOUNT ‘MAKES SENSE’
Since then, Tanden has deleted tweets she wrote that criticized several senators, including many in the Republican Party, after she was nominated for the position of director of the OMB.
In 2019, for example, Tanden asked people to focus his “ire” on Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and on Republican senators who ran for election that “empowered” him.
Tanden also wrote in a separate post that “vampires have more hearts than Ted Cruz”.
Tanden apologized for his past on Twitter during a hearing before lawmakers, saying he regretted his language, as reported by Politico.
Manchin’s vote is central to Tanden’s nomination, as the party’s balance of power fluctuates at 50-50, meaning that she would need at least one Republican to vote in favor of his confirmation.
The White House issued a statement late on Friday that reiterated its continued support for Tanden.
“Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee’s votes next week and we will continue to work to confirm it through engagement with both parties,” says the White House statement.
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