Neera Tanden's nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget has been withdrawn at her request, the White House announced Tuesday, presenting President Joe Biden his first defeat in assembling his Cabinet.


What You Need To Know

  • The White House has withdrawn Neera Tanden's nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget, per her request

  • Tanden's nomination was thrown into jeopardy when GOP Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), as well as centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), said they would not vote to support her

  • Tanden is the first of Biden’s Cabinet appointees to withdraw from consideration

  • In accepting her request, President Joe Biden suggested that she might have another role in his administration

The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

"I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation," Tanden wrote in a letter to President Biden. "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."

In accepting her request, President Biden suggested that she might have another role in his administration.

"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," President Biden wrote in a statement. "She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work."

The decision, which was first reported by The Washington Post, came after Tanden’s nomination was thrown into jeopardy when GOP Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), as well as centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), said they would not vote to support Tanden.

Despite the increasing pushback against Tanden’s nomination, Biden and other White House officials had previously voiced their continued support for Tanden’s nomination. 

"We’re going to push," Biden said of Tanden’s nomination in late February, adding: "We still think there’s a shot, a good shot.” 

That hope did not come to fruition, with multiple senators citing Tanden’s history of posting divisive content about sitting lawmakers on social media as reason why they would not vote for her nomination. 

Tanden, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and the president of the center-left public policy research and advocacy group Center for American Progress, issued an apology during her confirmation hearings in early February for spending years attacking top Republicans on social media as she tried to convince senators she’ll leave partisan politics behind if confirmed.

But Tanden did not limit her social media ire to Republicans alone — she had also tweeted criticism of then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during her time on Clinton’s campaign in 2016. 

It was this history that Manchin said disqualified Tanden from the top position at OMB, expressing concern that she would be able to work with lawmakers on either side of the aisle. 

"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,” Sen. Manchin wrote in a statement. “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.” 

Collins joined in the criticism in a statement first obtained by Politico: "Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend."

"The Director of OMB is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the federal budget and plays a significant role in any Administration’s fiscal and regulatory agenda," Collins wrote. "Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent."

Collins also said that Tanden's "decision to delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency."

Tanden is the first of Biden’s Cabinet appointees to withdraw from consideration. The Senate has approved 11 of Biden’s Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions so far, with Tanden’s nomination by far the most contentious. 

Biden has not yet announced his next pick to lead the department.  

This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.