Essential Politics: The Becerra and Tanden nominations test Democrats’ slim Senate majority

This is the Feb. 24, 2021, edition of the Essential Politics newsletter. Like what you’re reading? Sign up to get it in your inbox three times a week.

Not every Cabinet nominee will make it through the confirmation process.

Since the presidency of George H.W. Bush, each new administration has watched lawmakers derail at least one nominee in the first 100 days, my colleague Evan Halper wrote earlier this month.

Yesterday, senators held the first of two hearings on the confirmation of Xavier Becerra to be the next Health and Human Services secretary. He was widely expected to face a grilling from Republicans, and they delivered. Separately, Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget has run into what appears to be a fatal roadblock: Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va.) said he would vote against Tanden, throwing her nomination into serious doubt.

Tanden has a history of criticizing Republicans online. And Becerra came with a resume almost tailor-made to upset conservatives. The pushback to both nominees was expected and highlights the precariousness of Democrats’ power.

The party holds a technical majority that means losing even a single vote could jeopardize a nomination or legislation. The Senate is evenly split. If Democrats lose a single vote, and Republicans remain united in opposition, their nominee or bill will fail. In the case of a 50-50 tally, Vice President Kamala Harris comes to Democrats’ rescue to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Becerra’s path

Becerra didn’t have a controversial reputation until the Trump era. Halper writes there are a number of factors making him an appealing target for Republicans looking to derail a nominee.

Then-President Trump — and by extension his allies still in Congress — developed an adversarial relationship with deep blue California. Becerra is not only coming off a tenure as the state’s attorney general, but he also led California’s efforts to file more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Over the course of his political career, Becerra made healthcare access a signature issue: He helped develop the Affordable Care Act, pushed to insure people who are in the country illegally and challenged religious exemptions for birth control coverage. He’s been vocal in his support of abortion access and “Medicare for all.”

Republican leaders said shortly after the November election that they were watching for Biden nominees that seemed “too liberal.” As Halper writes, Becerra has hit enough pressure points to become “famously partisan,” as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called him — at least to Republicans.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee didn’t address his policy history and instead focused on Becerra’s lack of medical credentials yesterday, my colleague Sarah D. Wire reports. It was the first of Becerra’s two hearings.

Wire notes that only three of the 12 previous secretaries of the department had medical degrees. Recent secretaries include a pharmaceutical executive, a White House budget director and three Republican governors.

The bigger test will come today, when he faces the Senate Finance Committee. All eyes will be on Manchin, who does not sit on the committee but whose support is considered key in securing Becerra’s nomination.

What about Tanden?

Tanden — president of the liberal Center for American Progress and a former advisor to Hillary Clinton — has for years bashed Republicans and a few Democrats on Twitter, drawing backlash. Those tweets now stand between her and confirmation, despite an apology delivered during her hearing.

Manchin said he was voting against Tanden, calling her Twitter criticism “toxic.”

“I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,” he said in a statement.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio said they would vote against Tanden, also citing her tweets.

Biden’s other nominees

Confirmations have moved at a slower pace than in previous administrations for a variety of reasons, including some bruising political battles, the evenly split Senate and Trump’s impeachment trial taking up valuable time on the Senate calendar.

Biden’s first few nominees sailed through with bipartisan support. Among them: Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III was confirmed as Defense secretary; Antony J. Blinken as secretary of State; Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary; Avril Haines as director of National Intelligence; Alejandro N. Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security; Denis McDonough as secretary of Veterans Affairs; and Janet L. Yellen as Treasury secretary.

About a dozen nominees have had a hearing, but still await a vote, including Merrick Garland as attorney general, Marcia L. Fudge as Housing and Urban Development secretary and Miguel Cardona as Education secretary. A hearing for Deb Haaland, Biden’s nominee for head the Interior Department, will continue today.

Still to come: The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of William J. Burns for CIA director today. Katherine Tai, Biden’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, will appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

The view from Washington

— Garland appeared headed to easy confirmation as attorney general after a hearing Monday during which the soft-spoken federal appellate judge won praise from senators of both parties, write Del Quentin Wilber and David Lauter. He also pledged to make investigating the Capitol siege a top priority.

— Former security officials told Congress yesterday that faulty intelligence was to blame for failing to properly prepare for last month’s bloody insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, testifying in dramatic detail about their shock at confronting a violent insurrection, Wilber writes.

— The Supreme Court dealt a postelection defeat to Republican officials in Pennsylvania by refusing to hear their appeal of state court rulings that allowed for the counting of mail ballots that arrived up to three days after election day, David G. Savage reports.

— Also from Savage: The court cleared the way for New York prosecutors to obtain Trump’s financial records, issuing its decision without a comment or dissent.

— Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has no shortage of critics, who condemn his spread of conspiracy theories and inflammatory views. Among them: Most of his nine siblings, some of whom are trying to get him removed from office, Mark Z. Barabak reports.

The view from California

— Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California would be making changes to a program that reserved vaccine appointments for neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic. False claims and rumors led to the misuse of access codes key to the program, Julia Wick, Maya Lau and Laura J. Nelson report.

— California legislators approved a $7.6-billion COVID-19 package that includes $600 stimulus checks, writes Patrick McGreevy. Californians who qualify could see the money arrive as soon as a month after filing their tax returns.

— McGreevy also reports that Californians who appeal the denial of unemployment benefits are facing significant delays in having their cases addressed — another setback for the state’s struggling unemployment system.

— After protests erupted over George Floyd’s death, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he would slash $250 million from city departments and put the money toward communities of color. Dakota Smith writes that he met his goal, but reaction has been mixed.