London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Nov 04, 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
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Approves Construction of New North Sea Offshore Wind Hub
Northern Ireland Executive Finalizes Public Sector Pay Agreements Following Months of Inter-Agency Negotiations
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan Secures Cross-Party Support for Regional Clean Energy Infrastructure Bill
Competition and Markets Authority Launches Formal Investigation Into Dominant Artificial Intelligence Cloud Partnerships
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy Concludes High-Level Diplomatic Mission to Washington and Ottawa
Scottish Government Announces Emergency Housing Investment Package to Address Escalating Urban Homelessness
Chancellor Rachel Reeves Finalizes Corporate Tax Adjustments Ahead of Upcoming Business Investment Summit
National Health Service England Unveils Emergency Winter Resilience Plan to Combat Projected A&E Overcrowding
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Votes to Hold Base Interest Rate Steady at Four Point Seven5 Per Cent
UK Gross Domestic Product Expands by Zero Point Four Per Cent in Third Quarter Driven by Resilient Services Growth
Northern Ireland Executive Agrees on Multi-Year Public Sector Pay Restructuring Framework at Stormont
Department for Transport Confirms Acceleration of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Rollout Along Strategic Motorways
Welsh Government Announces Emergency Funding Package to Support Agricultural Sector Facing Severe Weather Impacts
High Court Rules in Favor of Environmental Coalition Over Government Carbon Reduction Plan Deficiencies
Office for National Statistics Reports Stable Retail Sales Growth Supported by Strong Digital Commerce Volumes
Scottish First Minister John Swinney Secures Cross-Party Support for Renewable Energy Export Expansion
National Health Service Digital Reports Major Breakthrough in Reducing Elective Waiting Lists Across England
Chancellor Rachel Reeves Outlines Infrastructure Spending Reforms to Boost Regional Economic Growth Across Northern England
Bank of England Holds Baseline Interest Rate at Five Percent Amid Persistent Core Inflation Pressures
House of Lords Advances Representation of the People Bill to Modernize Electoral Law Ahead of General Election
Financial Markets and Private Equity Assess Tax and Corporate Realignment Following Recent Chancellor Budget Adjustments
Justice Committee Warns Legal Aid Is a Service in Managed Decline Due to Inadequate Government Funding Responses
Royal Navy Intercepts Russian Intelligence Vessel and Warships Across Intensive North Sea Operations
Business and Trade Committee Slams Government Policy on China as Fragmented and Lacking Strategic Direction
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood Softens Immigration Plans Following Intensive Cabinet Backlash Over Settlement Timelines
Automotive Industry Data Reveals Continued Acceleration in Battery Electric Vehicle Registrations Across British Dealerships
High Court of England and Wales Rules on Landmark Legal Challenge Regarding Local Government Housing Mandates
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Approves Expanded Offshore Wind Infrastructure Along Scottish Coastline
Competition and Markets Authority Launches Broad Investigation Into Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure and Cloud Partnerships
United Kingdom and European Union Launch High-Level Preparations for Bilateral Defense and Security Summit in Brussels
National Health Service England Unveils Emergency Workforce Reforms to Alleviate Winter Accident and Emergency Pressures
Chancellor Rachel Reeves Finalizes Autumn Budget Adjustments to Meet Fiscal Rules and Fund Public Services
Bank of England Prepares for Interest Rate Decision Amid Rising Bond Yields and Inflationary Pressures
House of Lords Begins Detailed Legislative Scrutiny of Representation of the People Bill and Cyber Security Laws
Metropolitan Police Detain More Than Three Hundred Individuals Following Large-Scale Demonstration Outside London Embassy
Home Office Prepares Stricter Residency Rules Requiring Vulnerable Migrants to Wait Decade for Settlement Rights
Professional Mental Health Bodies Demand Statutory Regulation for Counsellors and Psychotherapists
National Grid Confirms Construction of Britain's Largest Electrical Substation to Power Teesside Data Centre
Prime Minister Keir Starmer Travels to Samoa for Commonwealth Summit Amid Debates on Economic Cooperation and Reparations
Home Office Implements Enhanced Digital Border Controls and Visa Processing Systems at Major Airports
Office for National Statistics Reports Stable Employment Participation Rates Across Regional Labor Markets
Department for Business and Trade Announces Strategic Partnership to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
Scottish Government Unveils Regional Economic Development Strategy to Boost Advanced Manufacturing in Glasgow and Dundee
Treasury Officials Review Taxation Frameworks and Capital Gains Rules Ahead of Autumn Budget Disclosures
National Health Service Leaders Warn of Winter Capacity Pressures Across Acute Care Facilities
Bank of England Prepares for Key Interest Rate Decision Amid Sticky Inflation and Fiscal Policy Pressures
Home Office Expands Border Security Operations and Intelligence Sharing With European Partners
Office for National Statistics Reports Modest Retail Sales Growth Ahead of Crucial Christmas Trading Season
Welsh Government Unveils Strategic Plan to Boost Regional Technology Innovation and Digital Skills Training
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Implements New Agricultural Subsidies Framework for English Farmers
×