Neera Tanden Is Best Choice to Lead OMB, Psaki Says, as Senate Opposition Grows

Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the White House budget office is all but dead in the closely divided Senate, after two Republican moderates declared Monday they wouldn’t support her.

Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah dealt Tanden’s chances of confirmation mortal blows when they announced they would vote against President Joe Biden’s nominee. Tanden’s nomination was imperiled last week when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not vote to confirm her.

All three of the senators criticized Tanden’s temperament, saying her past habit of attacking Republicans on Twitter -- including Collins, whom she once called “the worst” -- left her unsuited for the budget job. Collins also criticized Tanden for deleting more than 1,000 tweets before her nomination, saying it suggested she wouldn’t be transparent in office.

Romney’s office said in a statement that “he believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.”

Asked at a briefing whether the White House still saw a way to win 51 Senate votes for Tanden, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said “we do.”

“She needs the majority of votes to get through and be confirmed as the OMB direction; that’s what we’re working toward,” she said.

Democrats hold a narrow majority in the 50-50 Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie. Tanden’s nomination would fail if all Republicans join Manchin in voting against her. Without Collins and Romney, it’s unclear whether any Republican would support her.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said he did not know if any Republicans would do that, but acknowledged “we need to pick up support on the other side.”

“Put a gun to my head, I couldn’t answer the question because I don’t have the information,” Durbin said Monday on CNN.

Even with the new GOP opposition, the White House said it would stand behind Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Psaki called Tanden “an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent budget director” in a statement earlier and said “we look forward to the committee votes this week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties.”

Psaki’s statement was similar to the message the White House sent after Manchin announced last week that the would vote against Tanden. Collins, like Manchin, cited Tanden’s past comments on social media in her statement announcing her opposition.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.

Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake

Connect with us on…

Breaking News on YouTube