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.”

“I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others,” Manchin said in a statement. “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,” he said.

The moderate Democrat’s opposition imperils Tanden’s confirmation with the Senate evenly divided between the parties. Without Manchin’s support, Tanden would need backing from at least one Republican.