White House expresses support for Tanden after Collins announces opposition

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday expressed support for President Biden’s embattled Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee, Neera Tanden, after a key GOP swing vote indicated that she would vote against Tanden’s confirmation.

Psaki tweeted Monday morning that Tanden was an “accomplished policy expert” who would be the first Asian American woman to lead the agency and cited Tanden’s “lived experience having benefitted from a number of federal programs as a kid.”

The White House is “looking ahead to the committee votes this week and continuing to work toward her confirmation,” Psaki added in the tweet.

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

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 22, 2021

Her comments immediately followed an announcement by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that she would vote against Tanden’s confirmation. Collins was seen as a possible pickup vote for the White House as it seeks to salvage Tanden’s confirmation in the face of opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Collins cited more than 1,000 social media posts deleted by Tanden in the days leading up to her nomination and beyond, many of which targeted Republicans and progressives for harsh criticism and which Republicans have called “insulting.”

Manchin previously announced his opposition to Tanden’s nomination on Friday, citing the incendiary posts on social media.

“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,” Manchin said in a statement. “For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”

Biden will need one Republican vote as well as the votes of every other member of Manchin’s caucus in order to secure Tanden’s confirmation in the divided 50-50 Senate.

Biden over the weekend also stood by Tanden’s nomination, setting up a battle with the Senate even as the president is simultaneously working to pass his first major piece of legislation, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan.