Neera Tanden, during a hearing at the Senate Committee on February 10. POOL / Reuters
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has suffered his first setback in the confirmation process of his Government.
The nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn from the process after verifying that the loss of support within the Democratic ranks themselves would complicate her confirmation in the Senate.
Tanden, a veteran of the Barack Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, had come under fire for old posts on Twitter criticizing lawmakers from both parties, as well as her previous work as president of the Center for American Progress, a progressive ideas laboratory.
“I have accepted Neera Tanden's request to withdraw her name from the nomination.
I have the utmost respect for her record of achievement, her experience, and her advice, and I look forward to having her in a position within my Administration.
It will bring valuable insight and insight to our work, ”Biden said in a statement Tuesday night.
In the United States Senate, which must confirm the appointment of all members of the Cabinet, Republicans and Democrats are even, 50-50, and the vice president of the country, Kamala Harris, has the decisive vote in the event of a tie.
A few days ago the accounts began to go wrong for Tanden, as a Democratic senator, the centrist Joe Manchin of West Virginia, announced that he would vote against, and the one chosen by Biden had not won over other Republicans prone to breakdown. ranks with his own party, like Mitt Romney from Utah or Susan Collins from Maine.
Previous hearings for Tanden's confirmation showed the difficulties he faced.
She received criticism from Republicans for her messages on social networks - she managed to delete a thousand of them - and also clashed with the leftist Bernie Sanders, who questioned her about the large donations from companies that the Center for American Progress had received during his tenure in the organism.
The vote was postponed for a few days pending further consensus.
This Tuesday, in a farewell letter, Tanden said: "It seems clear that there is no way to get confirmation and I do not want my nomination to continue to be a distraction from your priorities."