Sen. Joe Manchin’s Prima Donna Act has Grown Tiresome

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Axios, in its typical cynical Washington insider style, reports Biden’s confirmation calculus:

Opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) imperils the nomination of Neera Tanden as President Biden’s budget director but could help two other nominees.

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The state of play: Xavier Becerra for HHS and Deb Haaland for Interior have better chances if the confirmation gods get their sacrifice elsewhere.

The insiders’ refrain: “Someone always goes down.”

What’s next: The HHS and Interior hearings, scheduled for next week, will be proxy battles for two of the biggest ideological fights of the Biden presidency — adding a public option to Obamacare, and curtailing oil and gas extraction on federal lands.

So Neera Tanden, an accomplished woman of South Asian ancestry, is to be sacrificed on the altar of white male sexism in Washington to make it easier for President Biden’s other nominees, because she is an outspoken critic of Washington insiders?

That appears to be the reasoning of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). Joe Manchin Announces Opposition To Biden OMB Nominee Neera Tanden Due To Her Tweets:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) cited concern about Biden OMB nominee Neera Tanden’s “partisan tweets” as the reason that he is opposing her nomination.

Sen. Manchin said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others. 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. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination. As I have said before, we must take meaningful steps to end the political division and dysfunction that pervades our politics. At a time of grave crisis, it is more important than ever that we chart a new bipartisan course that helps address the many serious challenges facing our nation.”

One has to wonder if Manchin would still be opposed to Tanden’s nomination based on her tweets if she was a man?

If Manchin doesn’t have any policy reasons to oppose Tanden, then he needs to support her nomination. Putting forward a bogus excuse based on tweets in a post-Trump political world smells like sexism.

Exactly! When I first heard about this my first thought was “are you fucking kidding me?” As someone who has to endure reading the tweets of Republicans in Congress, every one of them have posted tweets far more offensive than anything Neera Tandem has posted (and at least I often find hers witty and funny).

And after four years of the Twitter-Troll-in-Chief, Donald Trump, this lame-ass excuse from Joe Manchin does not hold water. If Tanden has the professional qualifications for the job, and she does, President Biden is entitled to his nominee.

Mediaite reports, Manchin Slammed by Biden Supporters After Announcing Opposition to Neera Tanden: ‘Gratuitous, Mean Spirited, and Sexist Move’ (excerpts):

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) put the first Biden administration cabinet nominee in real political peril on Friday, announcing that he would not vote to confirm Neera Tanden as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Manchin cited Tanden’s “overtly partisan statements,” which mostly came in the form of caustic tweets, as his reason for opposing what would be the first South Asian women ever to hold the top OMB job.

With the likelihood of any Senate Republicans supporting her appointment very slim, Manchin’s move could very likely sink her nomination in a chamber with an even partisan split of 50-50.

But Manchin’s logic failed to pass the smell test for many liberals and Biden supporters:

Other critics couldn’t help but contrast his objection to Tanden with his support with openly partisan Republicans, some of whom made comparable if not more incendiary remarks.

Some political observers suggested internal Democratic power politics were at play, with Manchin asserting his independence to send a message to a Biden administration pushing a more ambitious, progressive agenda.

The Biden White House is signaling publicly and privately that it is not prepared to abandon Neera Tanden’s nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget.

But almost immediately after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced on Friday that he would vote against her confirmation — deeply imperiling her bid — behind-the-scenes jockeying began for those seeking to be the fallback option.

POLITICO reports, The jockeying to replace Neera Tanden has begun:

Two early contenders to replace Tanden are Gene Sperling, a two-time director of the National Economic Council, and Ann O’Leary, who just came off a stint serving as California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff, and who was considered a leading alternative to Tanden back in November when Tanden’s nomination was announced, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tanden’s selection to run the OMB was always viewed as a risky one for Biden, given her bare-knuckled approach to dealing with Republicans and particularly inflammatory Twitter account. But after Democrats took control of the Senate, Biden allies believed the president would get her confirmed.

The White House said it had no intention from withdrawing Tanden’s nomination, with the president telling reporters after a trip to Michigan that, “I think we’re going to find the votes to get her confirmed.” Democrats believe it’s critical the Biden administration does not quickly relent on Tanden after Manchin’s opposition, if only to demonstrate they will not cower immediately to any opposition, including from within the party.

But with no Republicans signaling they would support Tanden, activists and allies are already scrambling for the potential opening.

Sperling, whose potential bid was mentioned in a Friday night article in The American Prospect, has boosters through the party owing to his service in the Clinton and Obama administrations and the relationships he’s built both with Biden’s top economic advisers and within progressive intellectual circles.

Biden’s orbit believes he would be easily confirmed if nominated. But there are concerns about Sperling’s potential ascension because of the president’s stated commitment to build a diverse cabinet. Tanden is an Indian American woman, one of only two women of Asian descent nominated for the cabinet other than Vice President Kamala Harris.

“It’s difficult for them not to put a woman in the job because of the commitments the president made to having a balanced cabinet,” said one former Obama official.

Reached for comment, Sperling praised Tanden’s nomination to OMB.

“I have worked with Neera for over 20 years and have never stopped being impressed by the breadth of her policy expertise, her work ethic and commitment to helping Americans in need,” Sperling said. “She is supremely qualified to be OMB Director. I have been and remain 100% supportive of her confirmation.”

O’Leary is a longtime Democratic policymaker with close ties to top Biden aides — in particular, White House chief of staff Ron Klain — owing to her years of experience in Clintonworld. She worked in the Clinton White House and then joined Hillary Clinton’s Senate office as legislative director. She later served as a top policy adviser on Clinton’s 2016 campaign, along with Jake Sullivan, now Biden’s national security adviser.

Her policy work has been widely praised by Democrats, but her chances at the slot may be bogged down by her most recent stint in the Newsom administration.

O’Leary served for two years as Newsom’s chief of staff, and it was well-known in Democratic circles that she was angling for a job in the Biden administration. But she left Newsom’s staff before she landed a job. Her departure came around the time the governor began to face a recall effort over criticism of how he has handled the Covid-19 pandemic. People in Newsom’s camp felt O’Leary was not the right person to lead the governor through the turbulence of a recall.

“Does the White House want to have Senate hearings that are going to examine the Gavin Newsom administration in California? That’s the baggage,” the Obama alum said. “There’s a lot of concern.”

O’Leary tweeted her support for Tanden’s nomination:

“For years, I’ve worked side-by-side with my dear friend @neeratanden fighting for more inclusive and equitable economic policies,” she wrote. “Yes, she’s a tough cookie, but it’s because she’s fighting so hard for the most vulnerable. @POTUS is going to get her confirmed and I’ll be cheering!”

Given the concerns surrounding Sperling and O’Leary, the White House could decide to elevate Shalanda Young, who has been nominated to serve as deputy OMB director. Young, a Black woman, is widely respected by both parties on the Hill, where she has worked as the staff director for House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee.

Still, the White House is insistent they will continue to push for Tanden’s confirmation, touting her more than 35 meetings with senators from both parties, her outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations and the business community and bipartisan support she earned outside the Beltway, including from former OMB Director Mitch Daniels, a Republican.

“Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent budget director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement Friday night.

While most Democrats argue it’s too early to completely desert Tanden, they also worry about waiting too long to fill the top post at OMB, especially as the administration is expected to produce a budget in the coming weeks or months.

“I wouldn’t want to go another month without an OMB director,” the former Obama official said. “It’s an incredibly important time. Either let’s get Neera confirmed, or you’re going to have to move quickly.”

Are there at least two Republican female senators — looking at you, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who just voted to impeach the Twitter-Troll-in-Chief — to take a stand against the white male sexism in the Senate and vote to confirm this well qualified nominee? Or will you stand with the white male sexists in the Senate out of GOP tribalism?





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3 thoughts on “Sen. Joe Manchin’s Prima Donna Act has Grown Tiresome”

  1. UPDATE: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia denied that sexism played a role in his opposition, calling his decision “not personal at all.” There is evidence that it is a personal vendetta.

    “Neera Tanden Once Criticized Joe Manchin’s Pharma CEO Daughter”,https://www.newsweek.com/neera-tanden-criticized-joe-manchin-daughter-heather-bresch-1571531

    Neera Tanden previously sent a tweet taking issue with the salary of former CEO of pharmaceutical company Mylan, Heather Bresch, who is the daughter of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV).

    In August 2016, Tanden shared a screengrab of an article about Bresch which focused on a significant rise in her pay while at Mylan.

    It highlighted that the company’s board said this was justified as she had “contributed significantly to the company’s growth in recent years.”

    Tanden wrote: “The idea that only CEO contributes to a company’s growth and not all employees is really pernicious.”

    Ooooh, this is what Manchin considers a “mean tweet”?

  2. Proving, once again, that her reputation as a feminist defender of qualified women serving in government is undeserved, Senator Susan Collins says she will vote with her sexist white male colleagues against confirmation. GOP tribalism is the only code they live by.

    “Collins says she’ll vote against Biden budget nominee Tanden”, https://apnews.com/article/biden-cabinet-hillary-clinton-confirmation-hearings-media-social-media-7e64693263b947006458c09cd3698881

    Collins said Monday that Tanden has “neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency,” which heads efforts to ensure an administration’s priorities are reflected in legislation and regulations. Collins blamed Tanden’s past actions and said they “demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.”

    Tanden does have the experience, it is her “temperament” that Collins is whining about – “mean tweets” – some of them directed at her. Does she ever say this about her Republican colleagues who regularly “mean tweet”?

  3. Right-wing provocateur and radio host Hugh Hewitt unbelievably makes a cogent point, “The GOP should forgive Neera Tanden”, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/20/gop-should-forgive-neera-tanden/

    (excerpt)

    Tanden, head of the liberal Center for American Progress, is a lawyer, activist, former senior Hillary Clinton aide and ubiquitous presence on cable television and Twitter. Because Tanden is smart, funny and quick, she’s capable of leaving a mark. I know — I have more Tanden-inflicted scars than the villains in all the Zorro movies and television episodes combined. She has displayed the same cutting ruthlessness on Twitter as she has on set. Which is to be expected. She’s a serious left-liberal, though not as far to the left as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, so she’s left some marks on Team Sanders as well. She should also be confirmed as OMB director.

    All political people, especially senators, should live with the same rules of political debate as the rest of us. They should not use their confirmation power to protect themselves from online criticism, however hurtful. Everyone draws the line at threats. But Tanden has just clobbered people the good old-fashioned way: with words. By 19th-century standards she is actually tame. More to the point, it’s the 21st century; online and television and radio barbs are part of freedom’s fray.

    Tanden has apologized for her tart language. Senators — not just Manchin but also Republicans — should accept that and vote to confirm her.

    It would be one thing if Tanden had been nominated to a lifetime appointment for a federal judgeship, for which a higher standard applies and judicial temperament is part of the equation. But that test doesn’t apply with the same force to executive branch officials, and, in any event, presidents are entitled to broad deference in how to assemble their Cabinet. New presidents who have four years to succeed deserve their team in place, absent disqualifying personal flaws or other serious cause for concern. There are exceptions to every rule, but “mean tweets” doesn’t even come close.

    This is especially true when it comes to the Office of Management and Budget, which is almost an extension of the White House staff. The closer one gets to the Oval Office, the more deference a president’s nominees should receive on policy grounds.

    It’s time to reset the confirmation bar to exclude only serious objections, not the fact that some senators carry grudges and that the group as a whole wants a safe harbor from mean tweets.

    One or more GOP senators should step forward and set a precedent for the next Republican administration: “I am voting to confirm Neera Tanden despite what she has said or written about me or my fellow senators because the president deserves his first team on the field early. And we expect the Democrats to play by the same rules in four or eight years.”

    [I]t’s in the interests of both parties to forgive the small stuff and encourage the recruitment of talent. Confirm Tanden — and start a new page for executive branch nominees.

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