Sparks fly: Bernie Sanders questions OMB nominee Neera Tanden's corporate ties
by Naomi Lim, Political Reporter
February 10, 2021 11:31 AMSen. Bernie Sanders revisited political grievances over Neera Tanden's corporate ties just minutes into her second Senate confirmation hearing, pitting President Biden's pick for budget chief against the leader of the Democratic Party's liberal wing.
The Vermont senator, who infamously clashed with Tanden during his 2016 and 2020 White House bids, has the gavel for Tanden's confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee he leads. And he didn't hold back during his opening statement on Wednesday morning, opening a slow-to-heal wound that dates to her time as a senior aide to the chairman's 2016 Democratic presidential primary foe, Hillary Clinton.
Given the "unprecedented" public health and economic crises amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Office of Management and Budget needs a director with "the courage at this moment in American history to think big, not small," Sanders said.
The federal agency, which will oversee Biden's budget and policy implementation, requires a director who will "stand up to powerful special interests" that "dominate [the] economic and political life of this country, including what goes on here in Congress," he added.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/bernie-sanders-questions-neera-tanden-corporate-ties
