Democrats and their allies are beginning to suggest Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is both sexist and racist for opposing Biden nominee Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget.
Manchin, who holds a crucial swing vote in the Senate, has come out against Tanden for her past “overtly partisan statements” that he fears “will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next” OMB director.
“Women’s rights activists and allied Democrats are growing increasingly vocal about what they call the unfair targeting of women and people of color nominated by Joe Biden to top posts in his administration,” a lengthy report published Monday at Politico argued.
“Their fears had been bubbling for weeks, as Biden’s nominees of color came under sharp attack from conservative groups or saw their nominations delayed or opposed in greater numbers,” the report added. “But the worries burst out into the open over the weekend as Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget neared defeat at the hands of a Democrat.”
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), head of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, suggested there is a “double standard” when it comes to nominees.
“There’s a double standard going on,” accused Chu. “Her (Tanden) nomination is very significant for us Asian American and Pacific Islanders. I do believe that this double standard has to do with the fact that she would be a pioneer in that position.”
Politico noted that Manchin voted to confirm Trump-pick Richard Grenell, “the acid-tongued Trump booster, to the post of U.S. ambassador to Germany,” seemingly agreeing with the left-wing accusations:
Inside the White House, it did not go unnoticed that many of the lawmakers objecting to Tanden’s social media missives—including Manchin—voted to confirm Richard Grenell, the acid-tongued Trump booster, to the post of U.S. ambassador to Germany. Democrats on and off the Hill likewise argued that Tanden, who is of South Asian descent, was one of several nominees of color being treated differently than Trump-era nominees who lobbed personal attacks or expressed bigoted views.
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) spoke of a “pattern that is happening and increasingly hard to ignore” when it comes to certain nominees and Manchin.
“We can disagree with her tweets, but in the past, Trump nominees that they’ve confirmed and supported had much more serious issues and conflicts than just something that was written on Twitter,” Meng said. “This is not just about any one nominee like Neera, or whoever else — it’s just about this pattern that is happening and increasingly hard to ignore.”
Is there a pattern here??? Hope they’re using the same standard and not moving goal posts for only certain nominees. @DebHaalandNM @neeratanden @vivek_murthy https://t.co/TN2oMc05s5
— Grace Meng (@Grace4NY) February 22, 2021
As highlighted by Politico, Democrat-allied Ilyse Hogue, the outgoing president of the abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America, leveled accusations of sexism.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh “went nuts in the hearing on senators,” she claimed. “They’re saying that Neera cannot be confirmed because of the tone of her tweets. It feels paper-thin to me and certainly a different standard for how they expect women to speak versus the men that they voted to confirm.”
Related: Portman Joins Collins, Romney, In Opposing Biden Nominee Neera Tanden