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Biden’s choice to lead Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, appears to have deleted more than 1,000 tweets since November 1, after messages targeting lawmakers she will need for confirmation resurfaced.
Tanden, a longtime Clinton adviser and president of the Center for American Progress, is a passionate tweeter. She has used the platform to issue explosive criticisms against lawmakers – as well as voters – who identify with her right and left.
The tweets, some deleted and others still online, refer to GOP lawmakers by name, tagging and criticizing them for supporting President Trump or, in some cases, attacking them personally.
In March, for example, as the country was forced to return indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic, Tanden tweeted: “I’m glad [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell fiddles as the markets burn. This tweet has since been deleted.
The 50-year-old Clinton loyalist also attacked a moderate compatriot, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), calling her “worst.”
Tanden still had over 87,500 tweets on their profile on Tuesday, but The Daily Beast found that on November 1, the Democrat had 88,639 tweets on the social media platform.
It is not clear if Team Biden was involved in Tanden’s decision to delete some of the offensive tweets, or when specifically they were deleted.
Those working on the 46th President’s transition team were “well aware” that Tanden would be a difficult candidate to pass, according to CNN.
John Podesta, a loyalist colleague of Clinton, told Politico that Tanden had “drawn a little more fire from some neighborhoods” than Biden’s other candidates so far.
The fire he refers to involves the anger of Republicans and progressives over the choice of Tanden.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx.), Also a well-known tweeter, called the move “Biden’s worst candidate to date.”
“I think, in light of his combative and insulting comments on many members of the Senate, mainly on our side of the aisle, that this certainly creates a problematic path,” said Cornyn, who is a member of the leadership of the Senate, in its first reaction to the choice.
Cornyn doubled down after learning that Tanden was controlling the damage and deleting his tweets, saying he was surprised Biden’s transition team had not consulted with Senate Republicans.
“It’s pretty crazy for me to think that she can go back and… weed out all the tweets she’s sent over the past few months, years. And I think this is really an administration misstep. I’m really a little surprised, especially about the OMB candidate, that there was at least no consultation. I mean some of these problems can be avoided. And people, you know, saved from embarrassment, ”he told reporters.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) echoed Cornyn’s views: “She has been quite partisan in some of her previous posts. And in many cases, with regard to Republican senators who are expected to vote on his potential candidacy.
He declined to commit when pressed on whether the candidate would receive a floor vote if Republicans retained control of the upper house of Congress.
Speaking to the New York TimesSen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said that while he understood that this particular agency was known for occasional partisan choice, Tanden went further.
“The OMB seems to attract ideological people, but it is not just a liberal ideologue, it is a partisan activist who has sued the majority party senators. She seems to have chosen a path that does not lead to a confirmed position in the Senate, ”said the senator from North Dakota.
In a tweet, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) Criticized Tanden as “a partisan hack who called Susan Collins ‘the worst’ for the OMB.”
“Biden said he wanted to unify the country… So much for unity,” he added.
Collins, meanwhile, hesitated when asked about Tanden and her use of social media, telling reporters, “I didn’t know much about her, but I heard she was. a very prolific Twitter user. I really have nothing more to say.
Even a Democrat, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) has expressed doubt that a GOP-led Senate could push through Tanden’s nomination.
“If we don’t take back the Senate, it could be a challenge. But let’s see what happens. I don’t know how many Republicans are really going to go after someone who has the kind of training and experience that she has to deal with all the policy implementation that the OMB is doing, ”said notice the Hawaii Democrat.
With Post Wires
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