Biden budget nominee Neera Tanden apologises for ‘vampire’, ‘Voldemort’ remarks targeting Republicans
Indian-American lawyer Neera Tanden said that she deeply regrets her language where she had compared conservative leader Ted Cruz with vampires.
US President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Tuesday apologised for some of her past comments targeting prominent Republican leaders. During a Senate confirmation hearing, Indian-American lawyer Neera Tanden said that she deeply regrets her language where she had compared conservative leader Ted Cruz with vampires, a creature from Western folklore that survive by drinking blood, and called senator Mitch McConnell “Voldemort”, the main antagonist in JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels.
Tanden’s nomination for Director of the OMB, the top position in the White House responsible for managing the administration’s budget, was heavily criticised by conservatives. In one of her tweets, she had referred McConnell as “Moscow Mitch”, implying that the Senate Republican leader was working for Russia. Rob Portman, junior senator for Ohio, grilled Tanden for her past remarks.
“You wrote that Susan Collins is ‘the worst’, that Tom Cotton is a ‘fraud’, that ‘vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz’. You called leader McConnell ‘Moscow Mitch’ and ‘Voldemort’...I wonder how do you plan to mend fences and build a relationship with members of Congress you have attacked through your public statements,” asked Portman.
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Tanden said she recognises that the head of OMB is a bipartisan role and she will aggressively work to meet the concerns raised by the senator. “I deeply regret and apologise for my language and some of my past language. I recognise that this role is a bipartisan role and I knew I have to earn the trust of senators across the board. I'll work very aggressively to meet that concern,” she replied.
Tanden’s nomination is likely to get confirmed by Democrat-controlled Senate, with vice president Kamala Harris’ tie-breaker vote, even if she receives no support from Republicans. If confirmed, Tanden would be the first woman of colour and first South Asian-American to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
