Joe Biden's OMB pick Neera Tanden, has feuded openly with Bernie Sanders, dumped on Republican senators and dissed the president-elect himself - and even her mom says 'she's very aggressive'

Neera Tanden, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to run the Office of Management and Budget, has fired off tweets and emails that have agitated her party's liberal wing – along with conservatives and the Senate's most prominent centrist. 

The missives could pose a threat to her nomination if Republicans gain control of the Senate – or perhaps even if Democrats secure the narrowest of majorities.

One immediate strain to emerge is with the Democratic Party's progressive left, in particular those loyal to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who challenged Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020.

Controversy: Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Neera Tanden is already under fire from Republicans who would have to vote for her confirmation if Democrats do not win in Georgia

Tanden is a longtime Clinton ally and head of the liberal Center for American Progress.

'Everything toxic about the corporate Democratic Party is embodied in Neera Tanden,' tweeted former Sanders campaign press secretary Brianna Joy Gray. 

In another tweet, she wrote: 'To foster unity, Biden taps Republicans and Neera Tanden, a woman who is openly disdainful of Bernie Sanders and his coalition, but who is friendly with extreme bigots online,' she tweeted. 

Although Sanders himself hasn't commented on the pick, the Democrats' best hope is to obtain a 50-seat majority. Otherwise, Republicans will be in control of her nomination.

In that event, her posture towards Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chamber's most prominent remaining centrist, is problematic. She once called Collins 'the worst.' 

Collins, who backed President Trump on impeachment and Brett Kavanaugh's nomination but not on Amy Coney Barrett's, is one of just a few relative moderates who could be key to Biden nominations should Republicans hold control. She was heavily endangered this year but survived her reelection. 

Tanden was unflinching when Collins voted to confirm Kavanaugh despite allegations of rape and sexual assault that he denied.

Tanden is a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton. She is pictured with Center for American Progress co-founder John Podesta

An aide to Sen. John Cornyn bashed Tanden, while Tanden in the past has gone after Sen. Susan Collins

Tanden has feuded with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran a left-wing challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) attacked the Tanden nomination

'Sen. Susan Collins stepped forward as the chief advocate for Judge Kavanaugh, offering a pathetically bad faith argument as cover for President Trump's vicious attacks on survivors of sexual assault,' she wrote. 'Collins also revealed herself as a fake defender of Roe v. Wade, parroting ridiculous and debunked talking points.'

If Democrats win a pair of run-off elections in Georgia, they could confirm cabinet nominees without Republican support. 

Tanden also hasn't won many allies in the conservatives who make up the core of the Senate GOP. 

The communications director for GOP Sen. John Cornyn  blasted Tanden after her name got floated Sunday night, saying she has 'an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators' whose votes she'll need.' 

The aide, Drew Brandewie, tweeted that she 'stands zero chance of being confirmed.'

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called her a 'partisan hack.' 

Days ago, she tweeted that President Trump's refusal to concede the race to Biden, who beat him by more than 6 million votes, was an 'attack on democracy.'

BIDEN'S ECONOMIC TEAM

JANET YELLEN - Treasury Secretary

Would be first female Treasury-secretary, chaired the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017

WALLY ADEYEMO - Deputy Treasury Secretary 

Nigerian-born Yale law grad  and Obama Treasury official. Currently president of the Obama Foundation

NEERA TANDEN - Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Veteran Clinton aide who is close personal friend of Hillary. Runs Center for American Progress, voice of Democratic liberal wing although also a sworn enemy of Bernie Sanders 

CECELIA ROUSE - Chair of Council of Economic Advisors

Dean of Princeton School of Public and International Affairs - which had Woodrow Wilson removed from its name this year - and former Obama economic aide. Daughter-in-law of the late Toni Morrison  

HEATHER BOUSHEY - Member of the Council of Economic Advisors 

Economist who is CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a Democratic-linked think tank. See as part of progressive party wing and has worked with Tanden

JARED BERNSTEIN -  Member of the Council of Economic Advisors

 Prominent progressive economist who has taught at Howard, Columbia and NYU. Was critical of Obama's trade policy

'A lot of people worked really hard to counter Trump's attacks on democracy before, during and after the elections while some people sat on the sidelines. Because defenders of democracy won out does not mean there was no battle,' she said. 

Back in January 2017, she retweeted a tweet by president-elect Trump stating there was not Russian hacking of voting systems – although U.S. intelligence did assess that Russia hacked Clinton emails and ran a disinformation campaign.

Wrote Trump: 'Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!'

Her response, as Fox News reported, was: 'Why does he lie about this? Because he knows people have intuitive sense Russians did enough damage to affect more than 70k votes in 3 states.'

For Tanden, the Russian hack was personal: some of her own emails to Clinton were made public and posted on WikiLeaks. Clinton's campaing chair John Podesta had his account hacked during the campaign.

In some of those emails, she heaped praise on Clinton, as when she called her 'the strongest person on the planet' after an injury. 

In one, she dismissed Biden at a time when he was considered a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2016.   

'The good thing about a Biden run,' she wrote Podesta in 2015, 'is that he would make Hillary look so much better.' 

Tanden's mom once described her as 'aggressive,' a term any of her male adversaries would be wise to avoid. 

Maya Tanden told the New York Times last year her daughter 'can be very aggressive.'

'She's not going to let anyone rule over her,' she said, 'and she has loyalty to Hillary because Hillary is the one who made her.'

With her nomination already under fire Tanden wrote about her time growing up on food stamps.

'After my parents were divorced when I was young, my mother relied on public food and housing programs to get by. Now, I'm being nominated to help ensure those programs are secure, and ensure families like mine can live with dignity. I am beyond honored,' she wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer defended Tanden in a floor speech, another sign of potential trouble.  

'The Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels to explain their reflexive opposition to these outstanding selections,' he said. 'Neera Tanden, who would be the first woman of color to ever run the Office of Management and Budget, is so eminently qualified that some on the Republican side—grasping at straws—have taken issue with comments made on twitter criticizing the policy positions of Republicans in Congress,' he continued.

'Honestly, the hypocrisy is astounding. If Republicans are concerned about criticism on Twitter, their complaints are better directed at President Trump, who has made a hobby out of denigrating Republican Senators on Twitter.'

Collins commented briefly on Tanden, but did not tip her hand. 'I did not know her — much about her — but I've heard that she's a very prolific user of Twitter,' she said. 'I really don't have anything further to say.'

The Biden transition announced Tanden's pick as well as former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary.

Yellen would be the first woman to run the Treasury Department.  

Biden also said he would nominate Wally Adeyemo as Yellen's deputy. Adeyemo had been a deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, then was the president of the Obama Foundation, which is overseeing the planning for the Democratic former president´s library.

 

Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen would be the first woman to run the Treasury Department if she is confirmed by the Senate

Also on the team: Cecilia Rouse is Biden's pick to be chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, while Wally Adeyemo is nominee to be Deputy Treasury Secretary

Biden selected Cecelia Rouse, dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, to chair the Council of Economic Advisers. She was a member of the council under Obama from 2009 to 2011.

Heather Boushey, an economist focused on economic inequality and the president, chief executive and co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will serve on the council.  

While Biden's transition to the White House appeared to be hitting its stride, the president-elect was hobbling after fracturing his foot while playing with his dog on Saturday.

The incoming administration has been hampered for weeks by President Donald Trump who has refused to concede claiming, without evidence, that Biden's Nov. 3 electoral victory was due to fraud.

Biden named leading members of an economic team that will have to combat the crushing blows to U.S. workers and businesses from the coronavirus pandemic.

'This crisis-tested team will help President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris lift America out of the current economic downturn and build back better — creating an economy that gives every single person across America a fair shot and an equal chance to get ahead' the Biden transition said in a statement.  

In contrast to Trump, who largely picked white men for key positions, Biden's early appointments were shaping up to be highly diverse, including an all-women communications team unveiled on Sunday night.

AND MEET THE REST OF THE TEAM SO FAR...

 JOHN KERRY - Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

Kerry, who served as secretary of state under Obama and the Democratic Party nominee in 2004, is to be Biden's climate czar. The two men are longtime friends. They overlapped for years in the Senate and share a focus on international issues.

Kerry also helped negotiate the Paris Climate Accord as well as the Iran nuclear deal, which both became targets for President Trump.

He will be Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and will serve on the White House national security counsel. 

John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

'For the first time ever, the United States will have a full-time climate leader who will participate in ministerial-level meetings — that's a fancy way of saying they'll have a seat at every table around the world,' Biden said in his remarks. 

He touted Kerry's credentials for the job and their close, personal relationship.

'The world will know that one of my closest friends — John Kerry — is speaking for America on one of the most pressing threats of our time,' he said. 

Kerry praised Biden for his commitment to the environment and for his pledge to return the United States to the Paris Climate Accord on the first day of his presidency.

'You're right to rejoin Paris on day one, and you're right to recognize that Paris alone does not get the job done,' he said. 

Kerry's new position does not require Senate confirmation. 

TONY BLINKEN - Secretary of State 

Biden noted Blinken, one of his longtime advisers, comes from a family of 'immigrants and refugees' that include 'a Holocaust survivor who taught him to never take for granted the very idea of America as a place of possibilities.'

Blinken worked for Vice President Biden before moving over to become Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser and then the administration's deputy secretary of state. 

Tony Blinken, Secretary of State

He plays in a Parisian jazz band and is married with two young children.

In his remarks, Blinken thanked his family, including his father Donald, the former U.S. ambassador to Hungry, and his mother Judith Pisar, who was a major figure on the New York arts and social scene.

And then he told the story of his step-father, a Jew who survived a concentration camp as a child.   

'My late step-father, Samuel Pisar, was one of 900 children in his school in Bialystok, Poland, but the only one to survive the Holocaust after four years in concentration camps,' he said.

'At the end of the war, he made a break from a death march into the Bavarian woods. From his hiding place, he heard the rumbling sound of a tank. Instead of an Iron Cross, he saw a 5- pointed White Star.'

'He ran to the tank. The hatch opened. An African American GI looked down at him. He fell to his knees and said the only three words he knew in English that his mother had taught him: God Bless America. The GI lifted him into the tank, into America, into freedom.'

Blinken concluded: 'That's what America represents to the world, however imperfectly.' 

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS - Secretary of Homeland Security 

Mayorkas,a Cuban American, is a former deputy secretary for the department and will be the first Latino to lead it.

'While DHS affects everyone, given its critical role in immigration matters, I am proud that for the first time ever, the Department will be led by an immigrant, a Latino, who knows that we are a nation of laws and values,' Biden said.

Alejandro Mayorkas, director of Homeland Security

The president-elect also wished him a happy birthday. 

'And one more thing — today is his birthday,' Biden said. 

'Happy birthday. He's 21,' he joked. 

Mayorkas pledged to restore moral at the department, which has seen several chiefs move through its halls during the Trump administration and struggled with Trump's desire to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

'The Department of Homeland Security has a noble mission: to help keep us safe and to advance our proud history as a country of welcome,' he said.

'There are more than 240,000 career employees who selflessly dedicate their talent and energy to this mission. Many risk their lives in doing so. I would be honored to return to the Department and support these dedicated public servants in fulfilling their responsibilities and realizing our country's greatest hopes, all in partnership with the communities we serve.'

He could be one of the more difficult confirmations for the Biden team. When he was deputy secretary every Republican senator voted against his confirmation and he was only confirmed because Democrats controlled the chamber at that time. 

A former U.S. attorney, President Obama nominated him to be the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that administers the legal immigration system.

But, during his tenure, Mayorkas was repeatedly accused of political favoritism when granting 'Green Cards to wealthy foreign investors' - an issue that could come up in the confirmation process. 

AVRIL HAINES - Director of National Intelligence 

Haines will be the first woman to hold the position, which does not require Senate confirmation.

Biden described her as 'Brilliant. Humble. Can talk literature and theoretical physics, fixing cars, flying planes, and running a bookstore cafe, in a single conversation — because she's done all of that.'

Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence

Haines praised the intelligence community repeatedly in her remarks. That group took a beating in the Trump administration when the president railed against them for what he called 'spying' on his 2016 campaign and casting doubt on their findings that Russia influenced the 2016 election.

'We have worked together for a long time, and I accept this nomination knowing that you would never want me to do otherwise — that you value the perspective of the Intelligence Community and that you will do so even when what I have to say may be inconvenient or difficult. I assure you there will be those times,' she said to Biden.

And then she added: 'To our intelligence professionals, the work you do — oftentimes under the most austere conditions imaginable — is indispensable. It will become even more complex because you will be critical to helping this administration position itself not only against threats such as cyber attacks, terrorism, and the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons but also those challenges that will define the next generation — from climate change, to pandemics, and corruption.'

She has a colorful employment history.

In the 1990s, she ran an independent book store in Baltimore that was known for having an unusual collection of literary offerings, local writers, erotica reading nights, and small press publications.

The store hosted a number of literary readings, including erotica readings, which became a media focus when she was appointed by Obama to be the Deputy Director of the CIA. 

After graduating high school, Haines traveled to Japan for a year and enrolled in Kodokan, an elite judo institute in Tokyo. While attending the University of Chicago, Haines worked repairing car engines at a mechanic shop in Hyde Park. In 1991 Haines had taken up flying lessons in New Jersey, where she met her future husband, David Davighi. 

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations  

Biden noted her long tenure of 35 years in the Foreign Service and her Louisiana roots. 

'The eldest of eight. Her Dad couldn't read or write, but she says he was the smartest person she knew. First in her family to graduate from high school, then college, with the whole world literally ahead of her, as her Dad and Mom taught her to believe,' he said.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

And Thomas-Greenfield described her 'gumbo diplomacy' approach to foreign affairs.

'Mr. President-elect, I've often heard you say how all politics is personal. That's how you build relationships of trust and bridge disagreements and find common ground,' she said.

'In my thirty-five years in the Foreign Service across four continents, I put a Cajun spin on it. It's called Gumbo diplomacy. Wherever I was posted around the world, I'd invite people of different backgrounds and beliefs to make a roux, chop onions for the holy trinity, and make homemade gumbo — my way to break down barriers, connect with people, and start to see each other on a human level: a bit of lagniappe as we say in Louisiana,' she added. 

Her return to public service is something of a triumph.

In 2017, when she was a deputy secretary of state, she was terminated by the Trump administration as part of a purge of career officials.

In her remarks, she voiced the philosophy of the Biden administration: 'I want to say to you: America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back.' 

JAKE SULLIVAN - National Security Adviser

Sullivan served as Biden's national security adviser when Biden was vice president. His position does not require Senate confirmation.

Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser

'We need to invest in our people, sharpen our innovative edge, and unite the economic might of democracies around the world to grow the middle class and reduce inequality — and do things like counter the predatory trade practices of our competitors and adversaries,' Biden said of what he tasked Sullivan with doing. 

In his remarks, Sullivan noted that Biden tasked the team with  'putting people at the center of our national security. The alliances we rebuild, the institutions we lead, the agreements we sign — all of them should be judged by a basic question: will this make life better, easier, safer, for working families across this country? Our foreign policy has to deliver for these families.'

His wife Maggie served as a senior adviser to the late Senator John McCain. 

Sullivan worked for Hillary Clinton in the State Department and was an adviser to her 2016 campaign.