About News Here's Who Biden Might Pick for OMB Director as Neera Tanden's Confirmation Looks Unlikely Feb 23, 2021 Katherine Fung Here's Who Biden Might Pick for OMB Director as Neera Tanden's Confirmation Looks Unlikely Batten's David Leblang, professor of politics and public policy and director of the Global Policy Center, spoke to Newsweek about potential candidates under consideration to take Tanden's place as the president's initial pick for OMB director seems increasingly unlikely to gain enough Senate votes. Neera Tanden, nominee for director of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB), appears at her Senate confirmation hearing on February 9 in Washington, D.C. Her confirmation looks increasingly unlikely, with multiple senators stating they will vote against her. (Newsweek Photo)The Biden administration is heading back to square one as the chances for a Neera Tanden confirmation, the president's initial pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), seems increasingly unlikely to gain enough Senate votes. While the White House has said they have no intention of withdrawing Tanden's nomination, officials are looking for a fallback and are expected to move quickly after the vote. The nonpartisan OMB plays a vital role in estimating the cost of any piece of legislation and will be crucial in terms of getting policies through Congress—all of which could be held up if President Joe Biden fails to confirm a director to lead the agency. Few were surprised that Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced he would vote against her confirmation, essentially opening the floodgates for others and giving his party someone to point to if critics complained that Democrats voted along party lines to approve all of Biden's Cabinet-level picks. Shortly after, Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins also announced that they would vote against Tanden, making it difficult for Biden to secure the one GOP senator he would need to bring Tanden's confirmation vote back up to 50-50. Ann O'Leary, who had originally been floated as a potential alternative to Tanden in November, is once again being considered for the position. She served as California Governor Gavin Newsom's chief of staff up until late December, but some say her former role may present the White House with another challenging confirmation hearing. David Leblang, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Virginia, told Newsweek that O'Leary "would suffer in a confirmation hearing because of her tie to Newsom. Even though she left in December, I think that's still the stamp she will be carrying for a bit. The Republicans are out for whatever sort of help they can acquire during these confirmation hearings, so I think that might be a pretty easy one for them to just attack in terms of California's management of a series of things." Read full article in Newsweek David Leblang David Leblang is a professor of public policy at the Batten School, the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and the Randolph Compton Professor of Public Affairs at UVA's Miller Center. Leblang is a scholar of political economy with research interests in global migration and in the politics of financial markets. Read full bio Related Content David Leblang Labor Market Policy as Immigration Control: The Case of Temporary Protected Status Research Controlling immigration has become a central political goal in advanced democracies. Politicians across the world have experimented with a range of policies such as foreign aid in the hopes that aid will spur development in migrant origin countries and decrease the demand for emigration. We argue that internal policy tools are more effective, in particular, the use of policies that allow temporary migrants short-term access to host country labor markets. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in complex humanitarian crises Research Over 168 million people across 50 countries are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2020. Response to epidemics in complex humanitarian crises— such as the recent cholera epidemic in Yemen and the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo— is a global health challenge of increasing scale. The thousands of Yemeni and Congolese who have died in these years-long epidemics demonstrate the difficulty of combatting even well-known pathogens in humanitarian settings. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) may represent a still greater threat to those in complex humanitarian crises, which lack the infrastructure, support, and health systems to mount a comprehensive response. Rural poverty, climate change, and family migration from Guatemala News David Leblang, Director of the Batten School’s Global Policy Center, along with co-authors, assesses the root causes of migration from Guatemala. Leblang: How resettling Afghan refugees might help Afghanistan’s future News In an article for The Washington Post, Batten's David Leblang and co-author Margaret Peters explain how migrants help their home countries by building trade ties and by sending back both cash and political knowledge. Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
David Leblang David Leblang is a professor of public policy at the Batten School, the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and the Randolph Compton Professor of Public Affairs at UVA's Miller Center. Leblang is a scholar of political economy with research interests in global migration and in the politics of financial markets. Read full bio
Labor Market Policy as Immigration Control: The Case of Temporary Protected Status Research Controlling immigration has become a central political goal in advanced democracies. Politicians across the world have experimented with a range of policies such as foreign aid in the hopes that aid will spur development in migrant origin countries and decrease the demand for emigration. We argue that internal policy tools are more effective, in particular, the use of policies that allow temporary migrants short-term access to host country labor markets.
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in complex humanitarian crises Research Over 168 million people across 50 countries are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2020. Response to epidemics in complex humanitarian crises— such as the recent cholera epidemic in Yemen and the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo— is a global health challenge of increasing scale. The thousands of Yemeni and Congolese who have died in these years-long epidemics demonstrate the difficulty of combatting even well-known pathogens in humanitarian settings. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) may represent a still greater threat to those in complex humanitarian crises, which lack the infrastructure, support, and health systems to mount a comprehensive response.
Rural poverty, climate change, and family migration from Guatemala News David Leblang, Director of the Batten School’s Global Policy Center, along with co-authors, assesses the root causes of migration from Guatemala.
Leblang: How resettling Afghan refugees might help Afghanistan’s future News In an article for The Washington Post, Batten's David Leblang and co-author Margaret Peters explain how migrants help their home countries by building trade ties and by sending back both cash and political knowledge.