Neera Tanden’s harsh criticism of Republican senators may hurt the odds of confirmation

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to appoint Neera Tanden as his administration director for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but past criticism by the Liberal think-tank chief executive of GOP senators could lead to a confirmation battle whether the Republicans retain control of the upper chamber.

An anonymous person familiar with Biden’s transition process informed the Associated Press on Sunday of the former vice president’s plan to choose Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, for the influential role of the OMB. Tanden is a divisive figure among some Democrats and an open critic of both Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump.

If one of the two Republican incumbents – Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue – defeats their Democratic challengers in the next Senate election, the GOP will retain its majority and could determine Tanden’s confirmation fate.

A spokesman for Senator John Cornyn on Sunday night cited her past criticism of Republicans in the upper chamber to insist that she will have no chance of getting the job with a GOP-led Senate.

“Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of derogatory comments about which Republican senators she will need votes for, has no chance of being confirmed,” tweeted Drew Brandewie, Cornyn’s communications director.

Tanden accused Senate Republicans of hypocrisy last month after quickly pushing Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court with fewer than two remaining until election day. “This hasty and illegitimate process is an insult to the American people and fundamentally changes the nature of the Supreme Court of Fairness and Justice into a branch of the Republican political agenda,” she wrote in a statement.

She also noted that virtually every GOP senator on the Judiciary Committee has claimed that former President Barack Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland in 2016 was too close to an election. “[That] was nine months old, “she said.” We are now 12 days away from the election. “

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) broke the Senate, he broke the Supreme Court and, together with President Donald Trump, he broke our democracy,” Tanden added.

In 2017, Tanden strongly condemned Republicans for passing a tax bill that “would give massive cuts to millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations while raising taxes for millions of working and middle class Americans.”

“Shame on them,” she said.

With such past criticism, Republicans are likely to view Tanden as an enemy on their agenda, which could hamper its chances of being confirmed. Moreover, Biden’s decision to name such a divisor figure among progressive Democrats could also lead to an intraparty rift.

In April 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders sent a scathing letter to the Center for American Progress accusing Tanden of “slandering my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas” after Think Progress produced a video mocking his millionaire status.

The incident, coupled with Tanden’s long-standing status as Hillary Clinton’s loyalist and Medicare for All opponent, left her unpopular among a liberal wing of the party trying to move Democrats further to the left.

Newsweek reached out to the president-elect’s transition team for comment.