Neera Tanden, Biden's Controversial Cabinet Nominee, Faces Her Moment Of Reckoning

President Joe Biden's nominee to head his budget office remained in the firing line on the second consecutive day as Senators from both end of the spectrum took her to task for her caustic comments.

Neera Tanden, awaiting Senate confirmation as the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), was made to regret her ruthless tweets aimed at Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who raced Tanden's ally Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

“I feel badly about that,” she said. “My approach will be radically different.”

The controversial comments included a 2018 tweet that sought to link Sanders with Russian propaganda. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, read out the tweet during Wednesday's hearing.

Sanders said Tanden has publicly disparaged him and other prominent political figures. “Your attacks were not just made against Republicans,” he said. “There were vicious attacks against progressives, people who I have worked with — me personally.”

Sanders also quizzed Tanden on millions of dollars in corporate donations her liberal think tank Center for American Progress (CAP) has accepted during her tenure. He cited a report that CAP received at least $33 million from companies such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Google since 2014.

“Before I vote on your nomination,” Sanders 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 said the donations “will have zero impact on my decision-making” if she is confirmed as OMB director.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., rubbed it in in his characteristic style: "You call Senator Sanders everything but an 'ignorant slut."

He pressed on despite Tanden's protest and asked her whether she meant the comments at the time. "I must have meant them but I really regret them," said Tanden.

Tanden, an outspoken critic of the Republican party, was also scrutinized Tuesday when she appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said there were reports that more than 1,000 tweets were deleted from Tanden’s account just after the elections.

On how she plans to “mend fences” with GOP senators she had previously criticized, Tanden said she will “work aggressively” to earn the trust of senators on both sides.

Democrats will be able to confirm her with their razor-thin majority with a tie-breaking vote from Vice-President Kamala Harris.

When confirmed by the Senate, Tanden will be the first woman of color and the first Indian-American to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Tanden spoke about her single mother and her struggles during the hearing, which was attended by her mother Maya and family members.

“I owe my presence here to their love and support and to the grit and resilience of my mother, an immigrant from India who was left to make it on her own in America with two young children after her divorce from my father,” Tanden said.

“She had faith in this country and made the decision, I believe the courageous decision, to stay. We relied on food stamps to eat, Section 8 vouchers to pay the rent,” she told the Senators.