Biden on the brink of first Cabinet defeat as Senate panels postpone vote on Neera Tanden

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WASHINGTON – Two Senate panels postponed their votes on Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s pick to head the White House Office of Management and Budget, spelling further trouble for her confirmation.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee were set to vote Wednesday before a full Senate floor vote, but lawmakers said they needed more time to discuss her nomination.

Tanden's confirmation began unraveling last week after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he would not support her nomination, triggering a string of moderate Republicans to say they would vote against her.

If confirmed, Tanden would become the first woman of color and first South Asian to lead the OMB. Without Manchin's support, she needs at least one Republican to vote in her favor to be confirmed.

Democrats accused Manchin and Republicans of unfairly targeting Biden's Cabinet picks who are women and people of color, pointing to scrutiny over Tanden, as well as Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the president's nominees for interior secretary and Health and Human Services secretary, respectively. Manchin denied that sexism was behind his decision to not back Tanden, calling it "not personal at all."

Democrats pointed out that Republicans outraged by Tanden's confrontational tweets never seemed to let Twitter attacks by President Donald Trump bother them.

"Why would her fate hang on tweets when we have lived through the tweet nightmare of Donald Trump and we have so many members in the Senate who stand by Donald Trump?" said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "They don't find that his tweets are disqualifying in any way. That's a double standard and one that's being applied to a woman of color."

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said he was "not concerned about tweets" but thought Tanden had a "very partisan record."

"And there was a concern about whether or not that carries over to the job, which is an important one," he said. "She’s gonna have to work with people on your side."

'People needed a little more time'

Tanden, the former head of the liberal Center for American Progress, has taken heat from both sides of the aisle for social media posts criticizing lawmakers. She faced a bruising confirmation hearing in which Republicans targeted what they called her abrasive rhetoric.

The Senate delayed Tanden's vote Wednesday amid bipartisan conversations between lawmakers, according to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who sits on the Homeland Security Committee.

"People needed a little more time to assess it," Peters said, adding that discussions were ongoing.

The homeland security panel's top Republican, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, came out against Tanden’s nomination this week.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has been noncommittal on Tanden’s confirmation. Sanders, whose strained relationship with Tanden stretches back to his 2016 presidential run, met with her Tuesday evening.

He said the Budget Committee vote had been postponed because "it didn't look like she had the votes."

More: Why Biden is standing firm on budget pick Neera Tanden despite pushback from left and right

More: Two senators join Manchin in opposing Biden budget pick Neera Tanden, putting nomination in peril

Neera Tanden, nominee for director of the Office and Management and Budget, has been accused of abrasive and overly partisan rhetoric.
Neera Tanden, nominee for director of the Office and Management and Budget, has been accused of abrasive and overly partisan rhetoric.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is "committed to continuing to fight" for Tanden and dismissed reports that Shalanda Young, nominated by Biden as deputy director of OMB, has been floated to replace her.

"There's one nominee to lead the budget department. Her name is Neera Tanden, and that's what we're continuing to fight for," she said.

Psaki declined to say whether Tanden had offered 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," she said.

Portman is joined by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine in opposition to Tanden's confirmation, citing her partisan statements. Collins and Romney were considered among a group of Republicans who might throw their support behind Tanden.

Thune said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, another moderate lawmaker seen as a possibility to back Tanden, was "still assessing" the nomination. Thune predicted there would be "near-unanimous opposition to her nomination."

Haaland and Becerra face second day of hearings

Biden is also facing pushback against his nominees for the Departments of Interior and Health and Human Services.

Manchin, who oversees the panel vetting Haaland, announced Wednesday he would support her confirmation, saying although they disagreed on some issues, "she reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence."

On Wednesday, the second day of Haaland's confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, GOP senators – mainly from oil, gas and coal-producing states – expressed unhappiness about Biden’s climate change agenda, including his executive order pausing oil and gas drilling permits on public lands.

As she did much of her first day in the hot seat, Haaland dodged questions about statements she has made in favor of species protection and against fossil fuels, pledging instead to work with senators on issues in their home states.

Despite the friction, Haaland is likely to win confirmation in the Democratic-controlled Senate and make history as the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet.

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Becerra, Biden's pick to lead HHS, faced a political storm in his own confirmation hearings this week. If confirmed, Becerra would make history as the first Latino to run the department.

A group of Republican lawmakers penned a letter Monday urging Biden to withdraw Becerra's nomination, arguing that he's unqualified to lead HHS, citing his lack of health care experience.

As California's attorney general, Becerra filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration on a multitude of issues. He led a coalition of Democratic states defending the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," from the Trump administration's efforts to overturn it, a legal case awaiting a Supreme Court decision this year.

Republicans pressed Becerra on his background, as well as his support for abortion. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., called some of his policy views "extreme."

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said it appears Becerra is “being held to a much different standard than some of the nominees this Senate has supported and confirmed over the last four years.”

Let me say this: Both Attorney General Becerra and I throughout our careers have too often been the only Latino in the room. Sadly, Xavier and I are not unfamiliar with being held to different standards,” Padilla said, “but he is a proven leader who is uniquely qualified to take on the challenges of this moment, and I urge the committee to support his nomination.”

Contributing: Ledyard King and Savannah Behrmann

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Neera Tanden: Biden budget nominee in jeopardy as panels cancel votes