Washington: US President Joe Biden nominated Indian-American Neera Tanden to be appointed to the position of director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. The Senate is facing a challenge to get confirmation because the Democratic Party’s Senator Joe Manchin has announced a vote against her nomination. Manchin’s announcement implies that the confirmation of the appointment of Tandon, now 50, is largely dependent on the support of a Republican senator. Manchin is a senator from West Virginia and is considered a liberal Democrat.
He said, “I believe her (Tandon) openly unilateral statement will have a significant and detrimental effect on the critical executive relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget.” He said, “Because of this I will not support his nomination. I had also said earlier that we should take meaningful steps to remove the political divide and disorder that has entered our politics. “
It is notable that the Republican and Democratic Party have an equal number of members in the 100-member Senate. The tilt of support from Vice President Kamala Harris’s vote is expected to favor the Democratic Party. In such a situation, the importance of Manchin’s vote increases and his decision will lead to a majority of the Republican Party opposing Tandon’s nomination.
Tandon had previously called minority leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate a ‘voldemort’ (villainous character) and his fight with Senator Bernie Sanders and his supporters is also taking place on online forums. Biden said on Friday that he had enough votes to confirm the appointment of Neera Tandon.
According to a news report, Neera was the first to apologize during the debate for her nomination, targeting longtime top Republican leaders on social media. Former Advisor to Hillary Clinton, Neera has also served as the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal-minded. About 50-year-old Neera Tandon, an Indian-American nominated for budget director in the Biden administration, was previously quoted by White House Press Secretary Jane Saki as “Neera Tandon is an accomplished policy expert who will be an outstanding budget director.” We want to work to confirm his appointment through talks with both parties next week. “
If Neera Tandon is appointed to this post, she will be the first black and Indian-origin woman to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In the US, the position of budget director is very important. Voting on Neera’s appointment to the Senate Budget Committee will take place next week.
