President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden, is apologizing for several tweets she sent over the years attacking Republican lawmakers.
During her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Tanden was confronted by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) about the “tone, the content, and the aggressive partisanship” of her past tweets attacking Republican lawmakers.
Specifically, he noted tweets where Tanden called Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) “the worst,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) a “fraud,” and claimed “vampires have more heart than” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
He asked her how she plans to “mend fences and build relationships with members of Congress you have attacked through your public statements.”
“I recognize the concern, I deeply regret and apologize for my language, some of my past language,” Tanden responded. “I recognize that this role is a bipartisan role, and I know I have to earn the trust of senators across the board. I will work very aggressively to meet that concern.”
Watch the video below:
.@senrobportman: "Are these media reports that you deleted more than 1,000 tweets in November in advance of you nomination accurate? If so, why?"@neeratanden: "I appreciate people's concerns about my tweets. I've regretted them. I deleted tweets because I regretted my tone…" pic.twitter.com/6hAupsRoaM
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 9, 2021
Portman also pressed Tanden on whether reports that she deleted over 1,000 tweets from her account after the presidential election were true. He also asked, if the reports were accurate, why she deleted the tweets.
“I appreciate people’s concerns about my tweets. I’ve regretted them. I deleted tweets because I regretted my tone. And I’ve deleted tweets over many months,” Tanden responded.
She continued, “For those concerned about my rhetoric and my language, I’m sorry and I’m sorry for any hurt that they’ve caused.”
He also asked if she deleted the tweets because she believed she would be nominated for a position in the Biden administration.
She maintained that she deleted her tweets because she “regretted” the tone of them.
Reports previously noted that Tanden’s nomination might encounter resistance as they cited her “disparaging” tweets.
In November, a spokesperson for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tweeted, “Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators’ whose votes she’ll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed.”
Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators’ whose votes she’ll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed. https://t.co/f6Ewi6OMQR
— Drew Brandewie (@DBrandewie) November 30, 2020
However, Democrats argued that Republicans were being disingenuous in their resistance to Tanden. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “After spending four years pretending that they didn’t see the latest insane tweet from President Trump, Senate Republicans seem to have found a newfound interest in the Twitter feeds of President-elect Biden’s cabinet selection.”
He added, “A few critical tweets about substantive policy positions have caused Senate Republicans to label Ms. Tanden’s nomination ‘radioactive.’ Spare us the hyperbole.”
Now that Democrats are the majority in the Senate, it is possible they could vote to approve Tanden’s nomination without any Republican votes as Vice President Kamala Harris could cast the tie-breaking vote for her nomination.
