Shelby endorses Shalanda Young for OMB director should Biden pull Tanden’s nomination

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the top Senate GOP appropriator, said this week that he would back Shalanda Young to head up President Biden’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if the Senate does not confirm his current nominee, Neera Tanden.

“I believe she would be good in that role,” Shelby said in a statement to The Hill on Wednesday. “She’s smart, she knows the process inside-out, and she’s an honest broker who has demonstrated the ability to work with both sides and get things done.”

“She would have my support, and I suspect many of my Republican colleagues would support her, as well. But that’s up to the Biden administration,” he added.

Young, who has served as the House Appropriations Committee’s Democratic staff director since 2017, was nominated last month to be deputy director of OMB. She has emerged as a potential contender to lead the agency as Tanden struggles to gain bipartisan support in the upper chamber. 

Republicans have come out against Tanden’s nomination after past tweets she made taking shots at the party gained renewed scrutiny during her confirmation process.

During her confirmation hearing before members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee earlier this month, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the panel’s ranking Republican and a former OMB chief, confronted Tanden over the tweets.

Portman said Tanden, an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who has also lead the Center for American Progress in recent years, had referred to to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as “the worst” in the posts and said that “vampires have more heart” than Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“I believe that the tone, the content and the aggressive partisanship of some of your public statements have added to the troubling trend of more incivility in our public life,” Portman said.

Democrats have accused Republicans opposing Tanden over the past tweets of hypocrisy when compared to former President Trump’s Twitter habits. Throughout his presidency, Trump often used social media to attack his critics on both sides of the aisle.

Her path to confirmation appears to be on shaky ground in the Senate, where Democrats barely hold control, after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined his Republican colleagues in opposing Tanden’s confirmation.

The White House has continued to throw support behind Tanden for the post despite Manchin’s opposition.

“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,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week.

If confirmed, Tanden, who is Indian American, would be the first woman of color to lead the agency. 

Earlier this week, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus leaders urged senators to confirm Tanden in a letter, saying her “substantial policy, legislative, and executive branch experience makes her exceptionally qualified to lead the OMB.”

“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 government can play in leveling the playing field and creating an economy that works for working families,” members of the caucus continued. 

Should the Senate vote not to confirm Tanden, Congressional Black Caucus leaders have also said they will push for Young to be nominated and confirmed. Young, who is Black, would also be the first woman of color to serve in the role, if confirmed.

Updated at 3:16 p.m.