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Biden withdraws nomination for Director of Office Management Federal Budget

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On Tuesday, Biden withdrew his nomination of “Clintonist” political advisor Neera Tanden who he nominated for Director of Office Management Federal Budget in his executive cabinet, following a series of controversial tweets. 

After a thread of Neera Tanden’s tweets about Republican senators was brought to light, the former-Clinton advisor’s nomination for President Biden’s Director of Office Management Federal Budget was called into question. Thus, Tuesday evening, President Biden announced, “I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.” 

It’s been reported that President Biden’s Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, suggested that Biden either remove his nomination of Neera Tanden or ask her to step down, as a result of her controversial tweets and the disadvantage it brought in trying to get Tanden confirmed by the Senate. It’s long been inferred by White House officials that Klain is ‘running the show,’ not President Biden, and usually takes the driver’s seat in calling the shots for the administration. It’s reported that following the discoveries of Tanden’s controversial tweets, Klain ordered her Twitter to be ‘scrubbed clean.’ What followed was a period in which 1,000 tweets were deleted from her account.

One tweet that was brought up by Republican senators called out Senator Rob Moore (R– AL), who had several sexual assault allegations, where she tweeted “The Republican party is gleefully supporting an alleged child molester. And everyone who gives money to the RNC is doing the same.” Meanwhile, another tweet said, “Trump just called a black woman a dog and about 80% of the GOP don’t think he’s racist. The whole party needs to be defeated.” Chief of Staff Ron Klain, a close ally of Tanden’s, feared these aggressive tweets would hold the administration back from gaining the number of votes in the Senate necessary to confirm her position. However, the Chief of Staff went on to say that, despite previous setbacks, he would “find another spot for Tanden to serve in the administration if she couldn’t get through the Senate, but we’re going to get Neera Tanden confirmed.”

A political strategist for Democratic Party who works closely with Klain said that “he’s Neera’s No. 1 fan in the building, there’s no question about it. The fact that she was even still in contention is 100 percent because of Ron.” While this might be the end of Tanden’s aspirations to be Biden’s Director of Office Management Federal Budget, this is not the end of her aspirations for another position on the President’s staff, based on Klain’s bold statements. It’s very likely that Tanden could merely be shuffled around the cabinet, in an attempt to ‘appease’ the Senate, later granting her another position in the executive cabinet. There are 3 possible positions Tanden could reappear to occupy: Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Director of the Small Business Administration, and/or Deputy Chief of Staff are the most likely contenders. 

Social progressive members of the Democratic Party have celebrated Tanden’s departure from Biden’s cabinet, viewing her career history as a betrayal to the seemingly-progressive ideals preached during the Biden campaign. Many conservative populists in the Trump-faction and social progressives in the Bernie-bloc, alike, have opposed the ‘corporate’ policies of Tanden. Meanwhile, some corporate Republicans of the GOP-faction have defended Tanden, suggesting that this is just another casualty of “cancel culture.”

ARTICLE: CARSON WOLF

POLITICS EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: BANGOR DAILY NEWS

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