Psaki Backs Neera Tanden Nomination as Senate Delays Stoke Doubt

The White House and Senate allies are mounting an all-out effort to save President Joe Biden’s nomination of Neera Tanden to be budget director after two committees postponed votes on whether to recommend her confirmation to the full chamber.

Votes set for Wednesday by Senate committees on Budget and on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs were put off. Homeland Security Chair Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said some members on the panel wanted more time consider Tanden’s nomination and that there are no immediate plans to reschedule a vote.

“Some members wanted some more time to review it, so we’re going to give it some more time,” Peters told reporters. Asked whether her nomination is in trouble, he said, “She’s still the nominee and we’re still having conversations with folks.”

The Biden administration stepped up efforts to win over senators of both parties who have been put off by Tanden’s sharp words for current lawmakers. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said they’re not yet at the point of Tanden offering to withdraw her nomination.

“Neera Tanden has a record of working with people who disagree with her, working with people who have different viewpoints, and different objectives and priorities, and that’s something she would certainly take into the job if she’s confirmed,” Psaki said.

Biden’s allies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday were reaching out to Democrats who haven’t expressed support yet for the nominee. They also need to convince at least one Republican to back her for her final confirmation vote after West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin said he would vote against her.

“We’re doing a full scale effort, including the White House and members, to find support,” Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said Wednesday. “We’re working hard to make sure she’s out of trouble.”

Wednesday’s committee postponements hint at further unease. Even before her confirmation gets to a floor vote in the 50-50 chamber, she has to clear both panels where Democrats can’t afford to lose any members due to their slim control.

Tanden, head of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, has ties to Hillary Clinton and would be the first South Asian woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Although she was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO labor union federation, she has made enemies on Capitol Hill by speaking negatively about Republicans and some progressives, including Budget Chair Bernie Sanders.

Tanden faced criticism during her confirmation hearing for tweets about the very U.S. senators she now needs to win over. She deleted many of her more controversial posts, which led some senators to question how transparent and nonpartisan she would be in a White House role that must work closely with Congress.

Both Vermont’s Sanders and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, who serves on the Homeland Security Committee, haven’t said whether they’ll support Tanden. Sinema’s and Sanders’s offices didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Their opposition would require additional Republican votes for Tanden to win confirmation in the full Senate, which is divided evenly along party lines.

Complicating matters further for Tanden’s supporters, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pushing all of the chamber’s GOP members to vote against the nomination.

But the White House continues to say she is the supremely qualified and deserves to be confirmed.

Tanden is “an expert whose qualifications are critical during this time of an unprecedented crisis,” Psaki said, adding that the committees “are going to do due diligence as are we, to continue that outreach and continue to fight for her nomination.”

Biden has also expressed confidence in her approval. “We still think there’s a shot, a good shot,” he said Tuesday.

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