White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says the administration will continue to fight for Neera Tanden’s nomination to be the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as it appears Democrats may come up short of the required votes to confirm her.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Psaki said, “There’s one nominee to lead the Budget department, her name’s Neera Tanden. And that’s who we’re continuing to fight for.”
“We’re focused on fighting for the person the president has nominated,” she added.
Watch the video below:
“There’s one nominee to lead the Budget department, her name’s Neera Tanden.”
— The Recount (@therecount) February 24, 2021
— WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki, standing by Biden's embattled OMB nominee pic.twitter.com/KqjjAurCqW
Psaki’s comments come as it appears that Tanden lacks support in the Senate to be confirmed.
Two Senate committees postponed hearings where Tanden’s nomination was expected to be discussed, which was seen as a sign that there are not enough senators willing to vote to confirm her.
The Senate is evenly divided, which means if all 50 Democrats voted in favor of her confirmation, they could approve her nomination without Republican support as Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote.
However, her nomination appears to have run into trouble after several key senators announced they would not vote for her confirmation.
On Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) announced that he would not vote for her confirmation as he cited her “public statements and tweets.”
“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,” he said.
Manchin’s announcement meant that at least one Republican would have to vote for Tanden’s confirmation in order for her to be narrowly approved.
However, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), two critical centrist Republicans, announced that they would not vote for her nomination either.
Tanden has faced questions from senators over past tweets she sent attacking lawmakers and her decision to delete hundreds of tweets ahead of her nomination.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) previously pressed Tanden on 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.”
