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WASHINGTON – A simmering rift within the Democratic Party spread into public view on Wednesday as Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, confronted Neera Tanden, President Biden’s candidate for President Biden’s office. management and budget, for millions of corporate dollars the donations received by his think tank and his story of personal attacks on social media.
It was the second day of tough questions for Ms. Tanden, chair of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, and it underscored the lingering tension between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party. She served in the Clinton and Obama administrations and was a key aide to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. The appointment of Ms. Tanden, a polarizing political agent, has drawn criticism for undermining the message Mr. Biden’s unity.
The showdown between Ms Tanden and Mr Sanders, an independent from Vermont, who took over as chair of the budget panel this year, was one of the few moments of potential drama in Mr Biden’s cabinet confirmation process. Mr. Sanders wasted little time breaking the ice.
“Now, Mrs. Tanden, at a time when the rich and big business have an extraordinary influence on the economic and political life of this country, I must tell you that I am concerned about the corporate donations that the Center for American Progress has received under your leadership, ”said Mr. Sanders in his opening statement. “Before voting to confirm your nomination, it is important that the committee know that these donations will not influence your decision making at OMB.”
He cited a report which found that the center had received at least $ 38 million from US companies since 2014. Ms Tanden insisted the donations would have no impact on her role as budget manager and noted that she had long called for policies to reduce Wall Street’s influence.
“It won’t have any impact on my decision making,” she said.
Mr. Sanders then moved on to criticize Ms. Tanden of himself and of her progressive allies.
“There have been vicious attacks on progressives, people that I have worked with, me personally,” he said. “Can you reflect a bit on some of your decisions and some of the personal statements that you have made in recent years?”
Ms Tanden and Mr Sanders have clashed since the 2016 election, with Mr Sanders accusing him in 2019 of “slandering my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.” ThinkProgress, an independent editorial arm of Ms Tanden’s think tank, had criticized Mr Sanders for the size of his income from writing a book.
Ms Tanden apologized for hurting anyone’s feelings and vowed to take a drastically different approach to communication if she is confirmed as budget manager.
In her first confirmation hearing on Tuesday, before the Senate Homeland Security panel, Tanden received similar criticism – but from Republicans. They spent the first hour grilling her on her Twitter posts and asking her why she deleted more than 1,000 tweets shortly after the November election.
Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman read aloud messages in which she called Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Minority Leader, “Moscow Mitch” and said that “vampires are over. heart than Ted Cruz, ”a Republican senator from Texas.
Ms Tanden apologized to this committee and said she deleted some of his tweets because she regretted his tone.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Republicans applauded the opportunity to drive a wedge between Ms Tanden and Mr Sanders. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, said he was not overly concerned about the donations Ms Tanden oversaw, but spoke of his attacks on Republicans and Democrats.
“His contempt was not confined to Republicans,” Graham said. “This is not the unifying choice that I was looking for in this position.”
He looked into tensions between Ms Tanden and Mr Sanders, dusting off previous criticisms she had leveled at the Vermont senator, including comments suggesting that Russia tried to aid Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016 .
Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy followed up and repeatedly urged Ms Tanden to say whether she really meant the things she tweeted about lawmakers.
“You called Senator Sanders anything but an ignorant bitch,” Kennedy said.
Ms Tanden denied the accusation and, after repeatedly objecting to whether her caustic comments were sincere, said: “I had to say them, but I really regret them.
On the policy side, she answered questions about deficits, taxes and national social protection programs. She has stuck to Mr. Biden’s political views and has promised to work with Republicans and Democrats transparently.
With Democrats in charge of the Senate, Ms Tanden is expected to be confirmed.
A spokesperson for Mr Sanders did not immediately respond to an inquiry into whether he would support the nomination.
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