The White House will withdraw the nomination of Neera Tanden for director of the Office of Management and Budget, in the first significant personnel setback for the Biden administration.
In a statement Tuesday night, President Joe Biden said he had accepted Tanden’s request to withdraw her name. “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment,” Biden said, “and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration.” It was unclear what that role may be.
Tanden had come under fire for using Twitter to criticize former President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, and has also been critical of the liberal Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he opposed her nomination. Without Manchin’s support, she would have needed a least one Republican senator to back her, which was highly unlikely.
“I know there have been some concerns about some of my past language on social media, and I regret that language and take responsibility for it,” Tanden said at her Senate confirmation hearing in February.
Tanden was previously the president of the Center for American Progress and served as senior adviser for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama, helping develop the Affordable Care Act.
In a letter to Biden on Tuesday, Tanden said: “It has been an honor of a lifetime to be considered for this role and for the faith placed in me.”
Neera is the first of Biden’s nominations to fail. Of Biden’s 23 Cabinet nominees, just 12 have been confirmed by the Senate so far, while 10 of 15 nominees to lead federal agencies have been confirmed. Biden administration officials say the delays are hindering the duties of the federal government, with so many departments still missing a leader.
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