Sen. Bernie Sanders rebuked Neera Tanden on Wednesday for the millions of dollars in corporate donations her liberal think tank has accepted, raising concerns about how that cash could influence her decisions as head of the White House budget office.
During Tanden’s second confirmation hearing for her nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget, the Senate Budget Committee chair said his vote of support for the nomination will be contingent on assurance that the money the Center for American Progress has taken in under her leadership won’t undermine her duty to “create an economy that works for all of us, and not just wealthy campaign contributors.”
“At a time when the wealthy and large corporations have extraordinary influence over the economic and political life of this country, I must tell you that I am concerned about the level of corporate donations that the Center for American Progress has received under your leadership,” Sanders said, noting that The Washington Post found $33 million in private sector donations to the think tank in an analysis of tax filings and donor disclosures.
“So before I vote on your nomination,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said, “It is important for me and members of this committee to know that those donations that you have secured at CAP will not influence your decision making at the OMB.”
Tanden vowed that corporate donations her organization has received “will have zero impact on my decision-making” if she is confirmed as OMB director.
The Budget Committee chair also laid into the nominee for her prolific history of public criticism of political leaders from both sides of the aisle — the same rebuke Tanden received during her first confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“Your attacks were not just made against Republicans,” Sanders told Tanden. “There were vicious attacks against progressives, people who I have worked with — me personally.”
Tanden again expressed regret for her harsh words. “I feel badly about that,” she said. “My approach will be radically different.”
Sanders pointed to a letter Republicans on the House Budget Committee sent urging Senate leaders to reject the nomination and raising questions about Tanden’s tweets, as well as noting broader allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation during her time at the helm of the CAP.
Republicans have also raised concern that Tanden’s past criticism of lawmakers could impede her ability to work with Congress on major policy and funding issues that require bipartisan support to clear both chambers.
Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) noted Tuesday that Tanden “wrote that Susan Collins is the worst, that Tom Cotton is a fraud, that vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz” and called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch and Voldemort.”