Second Google A.I. Researcher Says She Was Fired: Live Business Updates
Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, announced on Friday that he would oppose Neera Tanden, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, imperiling her prospects in an evenly divided Senate.
The fate of the nomination is now in the hands of a party Ms. Tanden has frequently criticized. She would need the support of at least one Republican senator in order to be confirmed, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a tie.
Given Ms. Tanden’s litany of critical public statements and tweets against members of both parties before her nomination, it is unclear whether such support exists — or if other Democrats will also come forward in opposition.
In a statement released Friday, Mr. Manchin cited comments from Ms. Tanden that were personally directed at Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, now the minority leader; Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent now in charge of the Senate Budget Committee; and other colleagues.
“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,” Mr. Manchin said. “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.”
The White House signaled on Friday that it was not ready to withdraw Ms. Tanden’s nomination.
“Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent budget director, and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement.
Ms. Tanden faced tough grilling from both Republicans and Democrats during her two confirmation hearings earlier this month.
Republicans spent the first hour of her first hearing before a Senate homeland security committee asking Ms. Tanden to explain her past Twitter posts and why she had deleted more than 1,000 tweets shortly after the November election.
Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, read aloud posts in which she called Mr. McConnell “Moscow Mitch” and said that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz,” a Republican senator from Texas.
Her second hearing was no less fiery, with Mr. Sanders confronting her over her history of leveling personal attacks on social media, including at him.
Ms. Tanden and Mr. Sanders have clashed since the 2016 election, with Mr. Sanders accusing her in 2019 of “maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.”
Ms. Tanden apologized to lawmakers during both hearings, saying she regretted many of her previous remarks.
“I deeply regret and apologize for my language, some of my past language,” Ms. Tanden said. “I recognize that this role is a bipartisan role, and I recognize I have to earn the trust of senators across the board.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/19/business/stock-market-today/