Neera Tanden Deserved Better

This evening, the Office of Management and Budget Nominee Neera Tanden asked the Biden/Harris Administration to withdraw her nomination after it became clear there was no pathway to secure her confirmation.

In a letter written to President Biden, Ms. Tanden, the head of the Center for American Progress wrote:

"I am writing to you to withdraw my nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be considered for this role and for the faith placed in me.

I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation. Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities.

I am incredibly grateful for your leadership on behalf of the American people and for your agenda that will make such a transformative difference in people’s lives."

President Biden released a short statement afterward, relaying:

"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."

What non-Senate confirmation role Tanden will have in the Biden/Harris Administration has not been revealed yet.

Neera Tanden deserved better from the Republicans and straggling members of the Democratic Caucus (Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin, and Bernie Sanders.)

To deny her confirmation because of tweets is the height of hypocrisy for those Senators that enabled Donald Trump for five years and voted for lesser (and more repulsive) nominees to serve in the Trump/Pence Administration. It is also potentially a sign of petty vindictiveness among the Senators Ms. Tanden tweeted about.

That said, if Mitch McConnell can say he would still vote for Donald Trump after all the things he has tweeted and done, 100 United States Senators should have found a way to vote and confirm Neera Tanden.

Hopefully, Ms. Tanden will soon serve in a White House Position that makes the most of her expertise and talents.

It will be to the Country's benefit.