White House Budget Officer Candidate Nira Tandon is on the verge of falling out of the last controversy. Reuters = Yonhap News
The White House is tense over whether the first case of failure to pass Senate approval among US President Joe Biden’s nominations will be released. The controversial figure is Nira Tandon, 51, who was from a colored race and was appointed as the first director of the White House Budget Office (OMB).
The situation became urgent when the Senate’s standing committee announced on the 24th (local time) that he would postpone a personnel hearing on Tandon. According to the New York Times (NYT), on that day, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee made a reason for “we need more time for lawmakers to review.” However, skeptical evaluation of Tandon continues, and there is also a prospect that the Senate will eventually request withdrawal of the nomination.
White House Secretary John Klein appeared on MSNBC on the 24th (local time), when the hearing of candidate Nira Tander was postponed, empowering him to say, “I am confident that he will be a great head of budget management.” [MSNBC 캡쳐]
What caught Tandon’s ankle is the’last words’ he said in the past. Tandon, who served as chairman of the American Progressive Center (CAP), a progressive nonprofit, swears at the then Republican politician. In particular, it established a conservative power and angle over the health insurance reform law called’Obama Care’. According to CNN, Senator Ted Cruz said, “Vampires have a warmer heart than Cruise,” or likened Senator Mitch McConnell to “Voldemort.” Voldemort is a villain in the Harry Potter series.
The debate surrounding him from the beginning of the nomination was hot, but the White House was relaxed. In order to be approved by the Senate after passing through the standing committee, a majority vote of the entire lawmaker is required. Currently, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are divided into 50 seats each, but if the tie is the same, the vice president who is in charge can exercise the casting boat. This is a scenario in which Vice President Kamala Harris agrees if the Democratic Party doesn’t vote and if there is a tie.
Rep. Joe Manchin, who is evaluated as a minorist in the Democratic Party. AP=Yonhap News
However, an unexpected reversal came from the Democratic Party. According to the Washington Post (WP) and others, on the 19th (local time), Democratic Party Senator Joe Manchin said he opposed the nomination, saying, “I think Tandon’s partisan remarks will be poisonous in his work with lawmakers.” Congressman Manchin is a person who is evaluated as a minorist in the Democratic Party. Recently, when President Biden announced that he would raise the minimum hourly wage from $7.55 (about 8150 won) to $15 (about 16,800 won) by 2025, he publicly opposed opinions.
The White House’s calculations have become complicated. It is simply a situation where the Republican Party has to hire one to vote for. Rep. Lisa Merkoski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), and Susan Collins (Main), who are also considered bipartisan in the Republican Party, emerged as candidates. But Romney and Collins soon expressed their opposition, and the only thing to look forward to is Congressman Merkoski.
Alaska Senator Lisa Merkoski said, “I need to find out more about what Candidate Tandon thinks of me.” EPA=Yonhap News
However, the Twitter that Tandon wrote about Merkoski in the past became a variable. On the 24th (local time), according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), when Congressman Merkoski posted a tribute to the 2017 tax bill on Twitter, Tandon said, “You and we all know. It is said that he later learned that he received the word “that this is garbage.” Then he said, “I tried to look at Tandon’s abilities, but I think I need to find out more about what he thinks of me.”
Tandon also responded. The WSJ reported, citing White House aides and the like, “Tandon made contact with 44 senators from both parties, including 15 calls with senators.” However, some Republicans said they decided not to meet him. Earlier, he deleted over 1,000 posts from Twitter right after his nomination.
When Nira Tandon, the second generation of Indian immigrants, becomes the director of budget management at the White House, he sets the record for being the first female director of the budget in American history. Reuters = Yonhap News
Born in Massachusetts to parents of immigrant Indians, Tandon said his parents divorced as a child and grew up financially difficult. He served in presidential camps for several Democratic candidates, including Bill Clinton in 1992 and former President Barack Obama in 2008. When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a senator, he served as a staff. However, an e-mail was revealed by WikiLeaks, saying, “Clinton’s political sense is suboptimal” to the head of the Sundae headquarters while serving as a candidate for the 2016 presidential election of Hillary Clinton.
Reporter Kim Sun-mi [email protected]
