ROMNEY, COLLINS OPPOSE NEERA TANDEN’S CONFIRMATION AS OMB DIRECTOR:
Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Mitt Romney (R., Utah) will not support Neera Tanden’s nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget, further endangering the confirmation of President Biden’s nominee.
“Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent,” Collins said in a statement on Monday. “Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency.”
A source reportedly told Politico that Romney “has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees” and “believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.”
The Republicans’ opposition comes after Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) said Friday he would not support Tanden’s nomination, citing her “overtly partisan statements.”
More here: “‘Senator Romney has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees, and this is consistent with that position,’ spokeswoman Arielle Mueller said. ‘He believes it’s hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets.’”
Pierre Delecto has spoken.
Psaki will “circle back” on Tanden’s actual qualifications.