"If Neera Tanden is not confirmed, she will not become the budget director," he said. "We will find some other place for her to serve the administration that doesn't require Senate confirmation."
Klain still promised to get Tanden confirmed despite the mounting uncertainty, given centrist Sen. Joe Manchin's stated hostility to her candidacy.
“I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement Friday. "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."
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Despite Klain's public vote of confidence, the White House reportedly sees Manchin's contradiction as a possible death signal for the candidate and is floating options. Among the considered replacements are Gene Sperling, top economic adviser to former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and Ann O'Leary, a Center for American Progress alumna who specializes in health, education, labor, and economic security policy.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not rule out removing Tanden's name from the fight.
"That’s not the stage we’re in," Psaki told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Biden would pull Tanden's name from contention, distinctly not denying the possibility entirely.
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In light of the growing opposition, the Senate's Homeland Security and Budget committees both delayed planned Wednesday votes on Tanden's nomination.
Tanden faced intense inquiry over her excessive fiery tweets aiming at individual members of Congress, as well as corporate donations to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank where she serves as president.
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The candidate showed remorse for her prior tweets during her confirmation hearings.
"I know there have been some concerns about some of my past language on social media, and I regret that language and take responsibility for it," she told lawmakers.
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The push from the groups comes as a pair of Senate committees postponed votes on Tanden’s fate on Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs one of those committees, conceded that the support was not yet there to confirm Tanden.
Tanden's confirmation requires a simple majority. If the chamber is deadlocked, Vice President Kamala Harris will cast the deciding vote.
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