The rocky rollout of Tanden’s nomination is partly the result of the White House misjudging how harshly Republicans and at least one Democrat would judge her record, as well as some problems in failing to consult lawmakers ahead of the nomination. Tanden’s challenges in being confirmed also underscore the risks for the president’s chief of staff, who must maintain Biden’s confidence across a range of personnel and policy decisions.
Tanden is broadly popular among senior White House officials, who cite her life experience and long record in key policymaking positions, and has been repeatedly strongly backed by the president himself. The vast majority of congressional Democrats have also supported Tanden. Klain declined to comment.
“This was Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron,” one of the senior Democratic officials said. “Ron is doing a great job, but this was not his best moment.”
Scrutiny over Tanden’s selection has continued to build as the story over her uneven reception on Capitol Hill stretched through the week.
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) announced he will vote against Tanden, imperiling her nomination in a narrowly divided Senate and putting the White House in the awkward position of scrambling to find Republican votes to secure her confirmation. One key GOP senator — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — said Wednesday that she has not made a decision, although she was critical of Tanden’s past rhetoric and skeptical of the White House’s efforts to persuade her. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), whom administration officials named as a potential supporter, said Thursday that he would oppose Tanden.
If Tanden’s nomination is withdrawn, Klain’s handling of it may face scrutiny. Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.) was not given a heads-up about Tanden’s nomination, although Sanders and Tanden have often been at odds. Critics also contend that Klain and other White House officials should have known Tanden faced a difficult path to Senate approval, based on her reputation among GOP lawmakers, and that they should have reached out to Republicans earlier.
“The White House misjudged this,” said Brian Riedl, conservative scholar at the libertarian-leaning Manhattan Institute. “Had they done outreach to Republican senators, they would have known that Tanden has long been well-known in Republican circles.”
Appearing on MSNBC on Wednesday night, Klain strongly defended Tanden as a “superb” pick to lead OMB and said “we’re fighting our guts out” to get her confirmed. If rejected by the Senate, Klain said, Tanden would be given an administration position not requiring Senate confirmation. The White House declined to comment or make Klain available for this story.
“Let me be clear: We’re going to get Neera Tanden confirmed. That’s what we’re working for. And she will be prove her critics wrong as an outstanding budget director that works with people on both sides of the aisle,” Klain said on MSNBC Wednesday night. “That’s what I think her record truly shows.”
Klain and Tanden have overlapped in Democratic circles for more than two decades. Klain served as a board member at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the advocacy arm of the Center for American Progress, the think tank led by Tanden.
After serving as Biden’s chief of staff during the Obama administration, Klain was brought in as a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Tanden is a long-standing Clinton confidante. And Klain’s relationship with the Clintons dates to Bill Clinton’s first term in the White House, as well as serving as chief of staff to former vice president Al Gore.
When Klain was appointed to coordinate the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak during the Obama administration, Tanden issued an effusive statement in 2014, praising…
Read More: At the center of Neera Tanden’s nomination controversy is Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain