Biden's pick for budget chief withdraws nomination
March 3, 2021
Neera Tanden ran into stiff opposition over controversial tweets that upset lawmakers. It is the first Capitol Hill rebuff of one of President Joe Biden's nominees.
Neera Tanden's nomination was opposed by several Republicans over tweets they claim are partisanImage: Anna Moneymaker/REUTERS
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US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his nominee for the head of the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, had withdrawn her nomination.
The Office of Management and Budget administers the federal budget.
Biden said that he would have Tanden serve in another capacity in his administration, without divulging further details. "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,'' Tanden wrote in a letter to Biden.
Tanden is the first nominee to withdraw from consideration for a top administration post under the Biden presidency. Eleven of 23 Cabinet nominees of Biden have been confirmed till now.
"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," the president said.
Joe Biden nominates a diverse Cabinet for a new beginning
US President Joe Biden has said he wants a Cabinet that will give the United States a fresh start. Diversity is a major focus. Here is a selection of his nominees.
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Vice president — Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris is probably the best-known face in the new administration after Joe Biden himself. Her mother is from India and her father from Jamaica, making her the first Black woman and Asian American woman elected to the post. Harris has made it a goal to fight climate change together with the new president. With her in this picture is Doug Emhoff — the first "second gentleman" in US history.
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Assistant secretary for health — Rachel Levine
Rachel Levine is probably the least-known new face nominated to the Cabinet. She would be the first openly transgender US federal official to be confirmed by the Senate. She is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry. Biden will be relying on Levine's medical expertise in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Secretary of health and human services — Xavier Becerra
The California attorney general was picked to head the Health Department during a global health crisis that has hit the US particularly hard. Becerra helped pass the Affordable Care Act when he sat in Congress. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first Latino secretary of health and human services.
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Secretary of the Treasury — Janet Yellen
Biden's nominee for this top position would be the first woman to serve as treasury secretary if confirmed. Yellen served on the policymaking committee of the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis and advised Bill Clinton. She would be taking the reins during one of the worst economic crises in US history.
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Secretary of defense — Lloyd Austin
If confirmed, Austin, 67, a retired four-star general, will be the first Black person to head the Pentagon. Because he has so recently been an active military officer, he would require a congressional waiver to be confirmed. Austin held a series of prominent roles in the US Army and worked with Obama during the withdrawal from Iraq.
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Secretary of the interior — Debra Haaland
Debra Haaland could be the first Native American member of a US Cabinet. She is a lawyer and a congressional representative from the state of New Mexico. She would have oversight of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and would have key input on decisions on compensation for the historical expropriation of land from Indigenous peoples.
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Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency — Michael Regan
Michael Regan is the designated administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. If confirmed, he would be the first Black man to head the EPA. In the United States, communities of color tend to experience some of the worst effects of pollution and environmental catastrophe and neglect.
If confirmed, Pete Buttigieg would be the first openly gay Cabinet member. He ran against Biden and Harris to become the Democratic presidential candidate in 2020. He is in favor of legalizing marijuana and of removing restrictions for abortion. But in his campaign he opposed free university study, a policy proposal popular with many fellow Democrats.
Image: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
Secretary of homeland security — Alejandro Mayorkas
The Cuban-American headed Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama. He led the implementation of the DACA program that allowed so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the US illegally as children, to stay in the country. If confirmed, he would become the first immigrant and Hispanic to head the Department of Homeland Security.
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Trade representative — Katherine Tai
Katherine Tai would be the first Asian American US trade representative. She speaks fluent Mandarin, which could prove to be an invaluable asset in what is likely to be Biden's greatest challenge on the trade front: economic relations with China.
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Secretary of education — Miguel Cardona
The nominee for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, was born in Connecticut to Puerto Rican parents. He is a former primary school teacher. Biden had promised to appoint a teacher as education secretary.
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Concerns over 'partisan' comments
Tanden withdrew her nomination after several Republican senators, along with at least one Democratic senator, had turned her candidacy down over statements she had previously made about some politicians on Twitter.
"Her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of the Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget," Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator had said last month. Manchin's support was important to get Tanden's nomination passed in an evenly-divided Senate.
The tweets were brought up in Tanden's confirmation hearing, during which she apologized to people "on either the left or right" who were hurt by what she said. She deleted the tweets right before the hearing.
The Biden administration had continued to back Tanden despite the opposition, stressing that her work as president of the Center for American Progress made her the ideal candidate for the role. Several politicians also came out in support of Tanden then and now, citing racism and sexism as factors for attacking her.
Biden will now have to scout for a replacement for Tanden. One of the top runners for the post is Shalanda Young, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, along with Ann O'Leary, the former chief of staff for Gavin Newsom, the governor of California.