Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he will oppose President Joe Biden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), coming after centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said they would oppose the pick.
The three senators’ announcements put Neera Tanden’s nomination in jeopardy as the Senate is split at 50-50. Fellow centrist Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) has not stated whether she will confirm Tanden.
Tanden will need at least one Republican vote to be confirmed following Manchin’s announcement.
In a statement on Monday, Romney office said he “has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees, and this is consistent with that position,” adding: “He believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.”
And Tanden’s move to “delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency,” Collins remarked on Monday.
“Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the director will be forthcoming,” she said. “The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden.”
Manchin announced late last week that he won’t support Tanden for a variety of reasons.
“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,” Manchin said.
Neither Biden nor Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has suggested they will drop trying to push for her nomination to lead the OMB.
