IN THE WAY

Sen. Susan ‘The Worst’ Collins Delivers Hammerblow to Neera Tanden’s Confirmation Chances

Biden OMB nominee’s past statements have upset Republicans—including the slam on the Maine senator and a reference to Mitch McConnell as “Voldemort.”

Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, already knew her chances of confirmation were hanging by a thread—now things are looking even more bleak. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) confirmed to Politico on Monday morning that she intends to vote against Tanden’s nomination. In a statement, Collins wrote: “Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.” Tanden’s past statements have upset Republicans—she once tweeted that Collins is “the worst,” said that “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz,” and referred to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as “Voldemort.” The Daily Beast reported that Tanden deleted more than 1,000 tweets from her personal account since Biden was declared the winner of the election in the beginning of November. Tanden needs at least one Republican senator to back her confirmation, and is now relying on support from Mitt Romney (R-UT) or Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).