Tester on Tanden, Supporting Controversial OMB Nominee

Neera Tanden is one of the more controversial nominees put forward by President Biden. Shortly after it became clear that her name would be recommended as the head of the Office of Management and Budget, Tanden immediately started deleting thousands of tweets, including harsh attacks on some of the same senators she now needs the support of.

The Federalist had this back in November:

Tanden also deleted tweets concerning Russia’s role in the 2016 election, peddling claims that hackers potentially changed the results of the election.

In one of her tweets, she referred to moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) as a "terrible person."

Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that he will be voting against Tanden's nomination due to her harsh partisanship, adding that the country needs nominees who will bring both parties in Congress together, as Breitbart News reported:

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. As I’ve said before, we must take meaningful steps to end the political division … that pervades our politics. At a time of grave crisis, it is more important than ever that we chart a new bipartisan course that helps address the … challenges facing our nation.

Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) wants to chart a different course. The fact that Tanden is a lightning rod is exactly why Tester says he will vote for her confirmation. Here's his exact quote according to Forbes.com:

“If you take a look at the folks who we voted in the last cycle, I think she’s pretty damn qualified,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the only Democratic senator besides Manchin representing a state Trump won by double digits, told reporters. “Anybody who can get both the left and the right mad has got to be qualified,” he added, urging the White House not to pull her nomination.