Politico reports that Neera Tanden's confirmation hearings, scheduled for today, have been "postponed," which suggests her nomination as OMB director "is on the brink of collapse."
As the world knows, Tanden's greatest offense was to have tweeted perhaps 1 percent of the wrath of confirmed Trump appointees. But Senate Republicans and the Democratic Party's Joe Manchin — maybe others — have had their novelistic Jane Austen sensibilities insurmountably upset by the unvirtuous Ms. Tanden's bluntness, which included,
… the Oh-close-my-ears! characterization of Sen. Susan Collins as "the worst." I doubt even puckered spinsters went screaming.
… Tanden's casting of Mitch McConnell as Voldemort. (For Christ's sake, the man revels in calling himself "the Grim Reaper.")
… her insult toward Bernie Sanders, which particularly charmed me.
Could it be, could it just be, that there is a trifle element of reactionary misogyny in Senate play? Whoops, now I'll never be confirmed as President Chris Murphy's OMB director. My own bluntness, however much smoothed by sarcasm, has doomed me.
I speculated from the beginning that Tanden's nomination was a rather strange and decidedly risky one. Her progressive-conservative views had also ruffled the dodos' feathers to feigned extremes. Now it's payback time — for the birds.
That said, I'm also of the unyielding opinion that POTUSes deserve whomever they wish to appoint. But the 50-50 U.S. Senate has suddenly decided to advise and consent, which is always the very riskiest of political propositions.