Amid controversy over her apologetic comments about the Soviet Union, the White House is affirming its support of a key Treasury Department nominee.
In September, President Biden nominated Cornell University law professor Saule Omarova to serve as Comptroller of the Currency — which “charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks.”
In addition to emphasizing the fallen communist superpower’s alleged lack of a pay gap, Omarova has formerly called for the bankruptcy of oil and gas companies to fight climate change and drafted a thesis entitled “Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capital” while studying at Moscow State University.
According to an Axios report published earlier this week, all 50 Republicans in the Senate are expected to oppose Omarova’s confirmation. Indeed, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) — who chairs the Senate Banking Committee and recently called for Omarova to release her thesis to the public — told the outlet that “Republicans will overwhelmingly oppose this self-described radical.”
Additionally, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) have expressed concern about Omarova — jeopardizing her path to confirmation.
In response, the White House told Axios that “Saule Omarova is eminently qualified and was nominated for this role because of her lifetime of work on financial regulation, including in the private sector, in government and as a leading academic in the field.” They therefore continue to “strongly support her historic nomination.”
As noted by the statement, which was also provided to Fox Business, the White House is lauding Omarova’s diverse background — namely, as the “first woman and person of color to serve as Comptroller.”
On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order promising to advance “racial equity” and support “underserved communities” throughout the federal government.
“Entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies, and in our public and private institutions, have often denied that equal opportunity to individuals and communities,” argued the measure. “Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism. Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face.”
“It is therefore the policy of my Administration that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality,” the order continued. “Affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our Government.”
Earlier this year, President Biden faced similar obstacles in confirming Neera Tanden — the former president of the Center for American progress, a left-leaning think tank — as head of the Office of Management and Budget.
Tanden had a history of making disparaging remarks toward lawmakers — such as calling Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “criminally ignorant” and “the worst,” in addition to voicing hope that she would be haunted for her conduct during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in 2018.