Rand Paul’s questions of transgender nominee were ‘obscene,’ says advocate

Rachel Levine — the Biden administration’s pick to be assistant secretary of Health and Human Services — was grilled during her confirmation hearing by Sen. Rand Paul about trans health care. The Kentucky Republican falsely equated transgender youth seeking medical care to “genital mutilation.” 

If confirmed, Levine would be the highest-ranking transgender political appointee in the federal government. 

Paul did not ask similar questions of Vivek Murthy, who was also testifying before the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday to be surgeon general. Continue reading.

Many of Biden’s nominees of color run into turbulence in the Senate

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The Biden administration has fewer top government leaders in place than other recent presidents at this point in their terms, a pace that’s been slowed by a siege at the Capitol, an impeachment trial, a plague and a series of snowstorms.

But activists who pushed Biden to nominate a diverse Cabinet are also noticing another phenomenon: Many of the president’s Black, Latino, Asian and Native American nominees are encountering more political turbulence than their White counterparts, further drawing out the process of staffing the federal government.

Controversy has centered on endangered nominee Neera Tanden, who would be the first Indian American to lead the Office of Management and Budget, typically a low-profile post. Her detractors, including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, have seized on scores of pointed attacks that Tanden has made via social media in recent years — a line of criticism that women’s groups say is unfair because it focuses on her tone rather than her qualifications or policies. Continue reading.

Journalist pinpoints the ‘uncomfortable truth’ behind the GOP effort to sink Biden nominee Neera Tanden

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With so many Republicans railing against Neera Tanden — President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget — and centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia having announced that he won’t vote to confirm her, Tanden’s chances of heading the OMB aren’t looking good. At issue, Republicans say, are tweets Tanden posted in the past that were highly critical of Republicans. Journalist Jill Filipovic slams Tanden’s opponents in an op-ed for the Washington Post, stressing that GOP senators are total hypocrites in light of all the inflammatory tweets that former President Donald Trump posted during his years in the White House.

“By wringing their hands over her supposedly mean tweets,” Filipovic argues, “congressional Republicans have attempted to don the mantle of civility while remaining stooges to Donald Trump, the most boorish president in history, on Twitter and off. Their disingenuousness, and their apparent belief that they are very special snowflakes who deserve special deference, is at the heart of the movement to prevent her confirmation. But tweets really aren’t what has put her nomination in peril — and it’s not just Republicans imperiling her. Tanden, a highly qualified candidate to be Biden’s budget director, is being swamped by a perfect storm of bipartisan hypocrisy.”

Tanden, Filipovic notes, is the “kind of bootstraps personal story that conservatives usually cheer.” She was born to immigrant parents and went on to attend Yale Law School before going on to head the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank — and Republicans, according to Filipovic, should admire Tanden’s drive and ambition despite their policy differences with her. Continue reading.

Opinion: The people concerned about Neera Tanden’s incivility sure didn’t seem to mind the Trump era’s

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It has become a rite of the modern presidential transition: The gods of politics demand a human sacrifice, the Senate torpedoes a nomination, the new administration takes a hit, and everyone moves on.

But the case of Neera Tanden, President Biden’s embattled choice to direct theOffice of Management and Budget, presents a new twist.

Tanden is amply qualified for the job. She is not accused of failing to pay her taxes or hiring an undocumented household worker. She is not on the ideological fringes. There has been no scandal in her personal life. Continue reading.

Haaland tells senators she sees ongoing role for fossil fuels

She would be the first Native American to serve as Interior secretary; some GOP senators say they don’t like her energy positions

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., sought Tuesday to reassure skeptics on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that she would respect the importance of fossil fuel production if she’s confirmed as Interior secretary.

“As I’ve learned in this role, there’s no question that fossil energy does and will continue to play a major role in America for years to come,” Haaland said in her opening statement. “I know how important oil and gas revenues are to critical services. But we must also recognize that the energy industry is innovating, and our climate challenge must be addressed.”

Haaland faces significant resistance from Senate Republicans. And the committee’s Democratic chairman, Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, has indicated that he remains on the fence about the nomination. Continue reading.

Tom Vilsack confirmed for a second stint as agriculture secretary with strong Republican support

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The former Iowa governor served in the same role for eight years in the Obama administration and has pledged to focus on racial justice and climate change

The Senate voted 92 to 7 Tuesday to approve President Biden’s nomination of Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary.

Vilsack’s path to confirmation was expected to be smooth after the Senate Agriculture Committee voted unanimously this month to advance his nomination, and many Republicans voted in favor Tuesday, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) broke with Democrats to vote against his nomination. Continue reading.

Senate confirms former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as energy secretary

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The Senate voted 64-35 on Thursday to confirm former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as secretary of the Department of Energy. 

Why it matters: Granholm, only the second woman to head the department, will play a key role in President Biden’s efforts to accelerate the U.S. shift to clean energy and help other countries do the same.

  • Granholm said she hopes to strengthen solar and wind power usage, and to boost the development of clean-energy technologies, like electric vehicles. Continue reading.

Biden passes one-month mark with less than half a Cabinet

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President Biden‘s top priority thus far has been combating the coronavirus pandemic, but he’s doing so without a Senate-confirmed secretary of Health and Human Services.

The White House has been vexed by messaging on reopening schools, and it’s still without an Education secretary to steer the process.

And the administration has punted to the Justice Department on issues like Biden’s authority to cancel student loan debt and whether former President Trump should face prosecution for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, a strategy that has been complicated by the lack of a confirmed attorney general. Continue reading.

Senate confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador

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The Senate voted 78-20 on Tuesday to confirm Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. 

The big picture: Thomas-Greenfield has promised to restore the U.S. role as a defender of human rights and will look to repair multilateral relationships that fractured under former President Trump. She will play a key role in the administration’s China strategy — her “highest priority,” she has said. 

  • Thomas-Greenfield faced criticism during her confirmation hearing for comments she made while speaking at a Beijing-backed Confucius Institute in 2019.  Continue reading.

Biden immigration bill reveals hardened battle lines in post-Trump era

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President Biden’s comprehensive immigration bill quickly exposed firm battle lines on Capitol Hill, raising questions about whether the White House might break the legislation into smaller bipartisan pieces if it hopes to pass any immigration reform.

Congressional Democrats rolled out Biden’s legislation with force, emphasizing there would be little room for compromise on a measure that would create a pathway for citizenship for some 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

“The reason we have not gotten immigration reform over the finish line is not because of a lack of will. It is because time and time again, we have compromised too much and capitulated too quickly to fringe voices who have refused to accept the humanity and contributions of immigrants to our country,” said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is sponsoring the Senate side version of the legislation. Continue reading.