London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Apr 12, 2026

Biden OMB pick Neera Tanden spread conspiracy theory about Trump’s 2016 win

Biden OMB pick Neera Tanden spread conspiracy theory about Trump’s 2016 win

Neera Tanden, President-elect Joe Biden’s new appointee as director of the Office of Management and Budget, spread baseless conspiracy theories after the 2016 election insisting that Hillary Clinton lost to President Trump because Russian hackers flipped votes.
The 50-year-old president of liberal think tank Center for American Progress and long-time Clinton loyalist served as an unpaid adviser during her 2016 White House bid and repeatedly claimed in the weeks after Trump’s victory that Clinton only lost because of Kremlin operatives.

In a series of tweets, some still online Monday, Tanden claimed the “Russians did enough damage to affect more than 70k votes in 3 states,” referring to Clinton’s losing margin in the Rust Belt states of Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

As first reported by Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald, Tanden began just days after the election baselessly suggesting that Russian hackers had switched votes from Clinton to Trump.

“Why would hackers hack in unless they could change results? What’s the point?” she speculated, suggesting this was why “Trump was as surprised as everyone else” by his win.

Her selection on Monday as Biden’s OMB chief, a hugely important role that oversees the administration’s financial management, quickly went down in flames as Republicans said there was no chance she would be confirmed by a GOP-controlled Senate.

Tanden has a history of making inflammatory comments about Republican senators, comments which she swiftly began deleting on Monday after news of her confirmation broke.

Josh Holmes, former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speculated on Twitter that Tanden’s nomination was a “sacrifice to the confirmation gods,” while Garrett Ventry, an ex-adviser to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP majority, said it would be “a funeral.”

Tanden would need 51 votes in the Senate to become chief of the OMB. Democrats control 48 seats but are hoping to pick up two more in the Georgia Senate runoff elections Jan. 5.

Regardless, Drew Brandewie , a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), put her chances at “zero.”

“Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators’ whose votes she’ll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed,” he wrote Monday.

Anticipating a fight, Democrats like Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio immediately began fortifying Tanden’s bid, calling her “smart, experienced, and qualified for the position.”

Unveiling his economic team Monday, Biden also announced Cecilia Rouse to direct the Council of Economic Advisers, which provides the president with objective economic advice.

Biden will inherit the White House amid an unprecedented economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but in a March interview with Vox, Rouse, a former member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, claimed the US didn’t need any financial stimulus.

“Right now, we don’t need stimulus. We need the opposite of stimulus,” Rouse claimed. “We want the economy to stop, in many ways. Right now, we need liquidity. We need people to be able to pay bills.”

Gridlocked for months, Congress has yet to vote on extending small-business Paycheck Protection Program loans or the $600-per-week federal boost to unemployment insurance with millions of Americans out of work.

On Sunday, the former veep also named his all-female communications shop, which will be led by Kate Bedingfield, who was his campaign communications director.

Anti-Trump activist Karine Jean-Pierre, formerly Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ chief of staff, will serve as a principal deputy press secretary to Biden.

Jean-Pierre, a former MSNBC contributor, also has a history of peddling conspiracy theories, claiming in a March interview on the liberal network that the president claimed the coronavirus was “a hoax.”

In October 2017, Jean-Pierre also claimed that Trump was “essentially defecating on women” by allegedly signing unspecified executive orders to take away their rights, and in January 2019 insisted that the president’s criticism of the intelligence community felt like “authoritarianism.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
UK Calls for Full and Toll-Free Access Through Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Starmer Signals Strategic Shift for Britain Amid Escalating Iran-Linked Tensions
UK Issues Firm Warning to Russia Over Covert Underwater Military Activity
OpenAI Halts Stargate UK Project, Casting Uncertainty Over Britain’s AI Expansion Plans
Starmer Voices Frustration Over Global Pressures Driving UK Energy Costs Higher
UK Deploys Military Assets to Protect Undersea Cables From Suspected Russian Threat
Canada Aligns With US, UK and Australia as Europe Prepares Major Digital Border Overhaul
Meghan Markle’s Planned Australia Appearance Sparks Fresh Speculation
Starmer Warns Sustained Effort Needed to Ensure US–Iran Ceasefire Holds
UK to Partner with Shipping Industry to Rebuild Confidence in Strait of Hormuz, Cooper Says
UK Interest Rate Expectations Ease Following US–Iran Ceasefire Agreement
Starmer Signals Major Effort Needed to Fully Reopen Strait of Hormuz During Gulf Visit
UK Fuel Prices Face Ongoing Volatility Amid Global Pressures and Domestic Factors
Kanye West’s Planned Italy Festival Appearance Draws Debate After UK Entry Ban
Smuggling Routes Shift Toward Belgium as Migrant Crossings to UK Evolve
Ceasefire Offers Potential Relief for UK Fuel and Food Prices Amid Ongoing Uncertainty
Iran Conflict Raises Questions Over UK’s Global Influence and Military Preparedness
Senator McConnell Visits Kentucky to Highlight Federal Investment in Local Projects
Kanye West Barred from Entering UK as Legal Grounds Come into Focus
UK Denies Visa to Kanye West After Sponsors Withdraw from Wireless Festival
Trump-Era Forest Service Restructuring Leads to Closure of UK Lab Focused on Kentucky Woodland Health
Foreign Students in the UK Describe Harsh Living Conditions and Financial Pressures
Reform UK Proposes Visa Restrictions on Nations Pursuing Reparations Claims
Public Reaction Divides Over UK Decision to Bar Kanye West
Calls Grow for UK to Review US Base Access Following Concerns Over Escalating Rhetoric
UK Indicates It Will Not Permit Use of Its Bases for Potential US Strikes on Iran’s Energy Infrastructure
UK Prime Minister Defends Decision to Bar Kanye West, Questions Festival Booking
UK Accelerates Efforts to Harmonise Medical Technology Rules with United States
Wireless Festival Cancelled After Kanye West Denied Entry to the United Kingdom
Australia’s most decorated living soldier was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with five counts of war-crime murder for the killing of unarmed Afghan civilians
The CIA’s Secret Technology That Can Find You by Your Heartbeat Successfully Locates Downed Airman
Operation Europe: Trump Deploys Vance to Hungary to Save the EU
King Charles Faces Criticism From Some UK Christians Over Absence of Easter Message
×