Manchin says he’ll oppose Tanden nomination

Sen. Joe Manchin has announced his opposition to Joe Biden’s choice of Neera Tanden to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget. Manchin cited her personal attacks on lawmakers.

Manchin’s opposition means that Tanden can only be confirmed if she gains support from a Republican Senator. Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are inclined to confirm all presidential picks for key jobs. However, with Manchin on record as opposing this confirmation, and given the soundness of his reasoning (see below), it doesn’t seem likely that either Republican will give Tanden the support she needs.

It won’t help that Tanden once called Collins, the least conservative Republican member of the Senate, “the worst.”

In other of her greatest hits, Tanden called Sen. Tom Cotton “a fraud” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “Voldemort.” In addition she said that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.”

Explaining his decision on Tanden’s nomination, Manchin said:

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. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.

As I have said before, we must take meaningful steps to end the political division and dysfunction that pervades our politics. At a time of grave crisis, it is more important than ever that we chart a new bipartisan course that helps address the many serious challenges facing our nation.

It would be nice if Manchin “vetoed” a few more Biden nominees. Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke are good candidates. The former has been nominated for the number three position at the Department of Justice. The latter is Biden’s selection to run the Civil Rights Division.

As far as I know, neither Gupta nor Clarke has been incautious enough to call U.S. Senators names publicly. But both Gupta and Clarke have viciously and unfairly attacked members of the Trump administration and Trump judicial nominees. Their rank partisanship is off-the-charts.

Furthermore, while in college, Clarke argued for Black supremacy and promoted anti-Semitism. And she still supports discrimination based on skin color against Whites.

If you live in West Virginia, you might consider telling Sen. Manchin what you think of the Gupta and Clarke nominations.

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