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Who is Neera Tanden? Why Joe Biden’s ‘neoliberal hack’ economic adviser pick is ‘feared’ more than Trump

In 2018, Tanden was severely criticized for revealing the identity of a sexual harassment victim at CAP during a staff meeting

President-elect Joe Biden reportedly has plans to nominate a diverse group of women as his economic advisers. Along with Janet Yellen as the nominee for Treasury secretary, he will be nominating Center for American Progress Chief Executive Neera Tanden as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Economist Cecilia is said to have been picked as the chair nominee for the Council of Economic Advisers.

Did you know before becoming a part of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank, Tanden served as the healthcare adviser in former president Barack Obama's administration? The consultant and lawyer, has also worked on Democratic presidential campaigns for Michael Dukakis in 1988, Bill Clinton in 1992, and Obama in 2008. Even though she has actively been a part of the democratic party, it was during her time as the adviser for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 primary campaign and the general election campaign that she gained prominence when some of her alleged antics became public.

According to the New York Times, Tanden allegedly assaulted one of the ThinkProgress' former staff members, Faiz Shakir, for asking Hillary Clinton about her take on the Iraq war. Shakir is now a part of Bernie Sanders' campaign manager. And, in 2015, a few leaked from CAP reportedly showed that the organization had "censored" its own writers from talking about topics related to Israel. Another section of emails showed Tanden arguing that Libyans should be "forced to turn over large portions of their oil revenues to repay the US for the costs incurred in bombing Libya", offering Americans' support in future wars.

CAP's influence through its deep ties with the Democratic Party started raising concern and Washington Post's Greg Sargent said in 2015, "CAP “is poised to exert outsized influence over the 2016 president race and — should Hillary Clinton win it — the policies and agenda of the 45th President of the United States. CAP founder John Podesta is set to run Clinton’s presidential campaign, and current CAP president Neera Tanden is a longtime Clinton confidante and adviser.”

In 2018, Tanden was severely criticized for revealing the identity of a sexual harassment victim at CAP during a staff meeting after reports surrounding allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation at the nation's top liberal think tank started making rounds. a spokesperson said that it was "unintentional". Furthermore, she has received major backlash for opposing universal healthcare, Medicare For All.

On November 29, after it was reported that Biden is choosing Tanden for the role of the director of the Office of Management and Budget, a significant number of people took to Twitter to express their disapproval of the president-elect's decision, with many of them calling her a "conservative" and an equal number of them calling on her for her stance on Israel.

Writer and editor Steven Thrasher in response to Biden's nomination of Taden tweeted, "I might* actually fear Neera Tanden more than Trump's ppl bc Tanden et al control & manipulate research & media so effectively. They don't just run Fox/Breitbart - they manipulate messaging very effectively and insidiously. *Might, but I won't fear -- I'll organize anew!" Another added, "Neera Tanden the neoliberal hack who destroys real progressives any chance she can get. Horrendous choice." And one tweeted, "Have been gathering gifts, and knitting, but just saw the news. Neera Tanden. That pretty much sums up what progressives can expect both in policy and in integrity from a Biden presidency.". One tweeted, "Neera Tanden is a disaster and the Center for American Progress is a front for conservative, warmongering, corporate profiteers."