On The Money: Tanden withdraws nomination as Biden budget chief | Relief bill tests narrow Democratic majority | Senate confirms Biden’s picks for Commerce, top WH economist

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BREAKING NEWS—Tanden withdraws nomination as Biden budget chief: Neera Tanden has withdrawn her nomination to head President Biden’s White House budget office after her prospects of Senate confirmation flamed out.

The White House made the announcement on Tuesday evening, sharing a statement from Biden and a withdrawal letter Tanden sent to the president. 

“I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said. “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my Administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.”

Tanden told Biden, “I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation. Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities.”

The background: Tanden’s nomination has been all but officially doomed for at least a week.

• Tanden, who would have been the first woman of color to lead the Office of Management and Budget, faced scrutiny over mean tweets she had written about Republicans and progressive Democrats alike.
• In two confirmation hearings, she repeatedly apologized for the tweets and promised to strike a more collegial tone as a member of the administration, but that didn’t stop Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) from announcing their opposition.

The Hill’s Niv Elis has all the details here.

LEADING THE DAY—Biden relief bill tests narrow Democratic majority: Senate Democrats are facing an early stress test of their fragile majority as they try to pass a massive coronavirus bill this week.

President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) need the support of every member in the caucus to get the bill through the 50-50 chamber and to beat back what is expected to be an hours-long marathon of GOP efforts to chip away at the bill.

Biden urged Democrats during a call Tuesday to remain unified, stressing the popularity of the sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus package among voters.

“President Biden made his pitch today to our entire caucus. And he said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon,” Schumer said after the call.

How soon is soon?

• Democrats are likely to face their first test of unity Wednesday with an initial vote on proceeding to the House-passed coronavirus bill.
• But the real balancing act will come once a wide-ranging vote-a-rama starts in the Senate. Democrats will need to fend off challenges from GOP senators who just need to win over one Democratic senator to change the bill

The tight 50-vote margin empowers any one member of the Senate Democratic caucus to demand changes as well. The Hill’s Jordain Carney tells us what to expect here.

What’s on the table:.

• Anything the Senate passes will need to bounce back to the House, where progressives are mulling whether to support the legislation after a setback over including the minimum wage.
• A group of Democrats also held a call with Biden on Monday to talk about ways to further target the House bill, including changing the phase-out structure of the stimulus checks.
• Democrats are also offering competing proposals about expanding and cutting back enhanced unemployment benefits.

Biden picks for financial agencies offer preview of regulatory agenda: President Biden’s picks to lead two major financial industry regulators shed light Tuesday on their plans for expanding consumer and investor safeguards while holding financial firms to higher standards.

During their confirmation hearing, Biden’s nominees to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) vowed to be vigilant in a rapidly changing — and in some cases, perilous — financial landscape.

• SEC Chairman nominee Gary Gensler would be taking the helm of a commission that was quickly ensnared in a high-profile debate last month over how closely the government’s stock market watchdog should handle a surge of investment activity driven by online trading platforms and the increasingly viral nature of markets.
• The other nominee at Tuesday’s hearing — CFPB Director-designate Rohit Chopra — would be in charge of a powerful consumer watchdog agency tasked with ensuring that tens of millions of Americans who have leaned on housing protections and debt forbearance during the pandemic can exit those programs without mistreatment or deception.

I’ll take you to the hearing here.

ON TAP TOMORROW: The Center for Global Development hosts an event entitled “Political Economy of Tax Reforms in Developing Countries” at 10 a.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Cecilia Rouse as President Biden’s top White House economist by a nearly unanimous vote and Gina Raimondo as Commerce secretary. 
• The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Census Bureau are among high-risk areas of government in need of reform, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
• The Labor Department’s internal watchdog released a report Tuesday recommending that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) put out mandatory coronavirus safety rules for employers.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the Consumer Data Protection Act on Tuesday, making Virginia the second state in the U.S. to pass a comprehensive data privacy law.