AOC Rips Sen. Joe Manchin Over Confirmation Of First Native American Cabinet Nominee

The infighting between Democrats escalated Tuesday. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was harshly critical of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia about some of President Joe Biden's Cabinet picks.

Ocasio-Cortez, a leading voice among progressives, criticized Manchin for his indecision about Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland. Haaland, a Native American member of Congress from New Mexico, is the second woman of color Manchin has taken issue with.

Manchin, a conservative Democrat who holds much sway in an evenly divided Senate, said Friday he would vote against confirming Neera Tanden as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

In both cases, Manchin has sided with Senate Republicans critical of the women for their harsh criticism of some Republican lawmakers on social media.

"I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden's public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Sen. [Bernie] Sanders to Sen. [Mitch] McConnell and others," Manchin said. "I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination."

Manchin's stance means Tanden will need one Republican Senator to support her confirmation. Maine GOP Senator Susan Collins and Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday they were also opposed to Tanden's confirmation. That eliminates two potential moderate Republicans from counter-balancing Manchin.

Haaland's hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee started Tuesday. She was quickly facing heavy scrutiny of her social media activity critical of Republicans.

Manchin had previously told Energy and Environment News he was hesitant of Haaland because she "has a little bit different agenda than us" while also opposing her plan to enact Biden's proposal that would ban the practice of fracking on public lands. Fracking is the injection of high-pressure liquid into subterranean rocks to further open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.