Neera Tanden, Biden's Pick for Budget Director, Promises She Will Stop Smack-Talking New Co-Workers on Main

In the years leading up to her nomination by President Joe Biden for head of Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden had a lot to say about the folks she may soon be working closely with, like Ted Cruz and Susan Collins. While none her burns, including labeling Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch” and “Voldemort,” weren’t all that sick, they also weren’t that flattering. Now for those (since-deleted) mean tweets, Tanden now says she is very sorry to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, despite the fact that tweeting mean shit has nearly outstripped appearances on Fox News as the GOP’s primary means of communication.

During her first confirmation hearing, Tanden said she deleted over 1,000 old tweets back in November, not because anyone told her to, but because she realizes her tone might have been a little harsh. I would argue her tone was just right for pointing out that Susan Collins sucks and that there are iconic villains from literature with bigger hearts than Ted Cruz, as the committee reminded her during the hearing:

“I’m concerned that your personal attacks about specific senators will make it more difficult for you to work with them,” Senator Rob Portman said. “Just to mention a few of the thousands of negative public statements, you wrote that Susan Collins is the worst, that Tom Cotton is a fraud, that vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.

And while Tanden does “apologize for my language and some of my past language,” where’s the lie, Rob? Point to it because I am not seeing it.