Biden brushes off criticism of budget nominee

President-elect Joe Biden in an interview published Wednesday brushed off criticism among Republicans of his pick to lead the White House budget office, suggesting the GOP would look to pick a fight on some nominees “no matter what.”

Biden defended Neera Tanden, his choice for head of the Office of Management and Budget, as she has come under fire from some Republicans over her at-times confrontational Twitter presence.

“That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90 percent of the administration,” Biden told New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. “But by the way, she’s smart as hell. Yeah, I think they’re going to pick a couple of people just to fight [over] no matter what.”

Biden’s comments are an indication he will stand by Tanden, even as her nomination shapes up as one of the toughest forthcoming confirmation fights of the new administration.

Tanden worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and became a prolific critic of GOP lawmakers on Twitter. She has previously referred to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as “Moscow Mitch,” hit McConnell on Twitter for not telling President Trump to wear a mask at his daily press conferences, and she recently deleted tweets that appeared to be critical of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), an adviser to the Senate Republican leadership, on Monday called Tanden Biden’s “worst nominee so far.”

“She’s been pretty partisan in some of her previous positions and in many cases with respect to Republican senators who have to vote on her potential nomination,” Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said.

Tanden’s allies have scoffed at the focus on her Twitter presence, noting that President Trump has spent the last four years offering policy positions and attacking critics through social media. Numerous Republican lawmakers also use their social media platforms to attack the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.