Tanden s confirmation is on the rocks after Sen. Joe Manchin The controversy about Neera is largely over her social media comments, which could be leveled at virtually all of us, Sen. Tim Kaine
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At her own confirmation hearings, Tanden repeatedly apologized and expressed regrets for tweets that targeted both Republicans and progressive Democrats.
Kaine raised the prospect that Tanden was facing a double standard, given that nominees with similar or worse records had successfully been confirmed despite mean or harsh rhetoric. We faced so many nominees in the past administration that had really intemperate things to say on social media accounts, including about me, Kaine said.
Progressives have pushed back on Vilsack s nomination because they felt he was too aligned with major agricultural corporations during his previous stint as USDA chief. More recently, Vilsack has been president of the dairy lobby group the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Vilsack’s work as a lobbyist also raised concerns among progressives, many of whom wanted restrictions on former lobbyists working in the Biden White House. The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a major industry lobbying group and Vilsack previously worked as a registered lobbyist for the law firm Dorsey & Whitney.
“I opposed his confirmation today because at a time when corporate consolidation of agriculture is rampant and family farms are being decimated, we need a secretary who is prepared to vigorously take on corporate power in the industry,” Sanders said in a statement.
Senate confirms Vilsack as Agriculture secretary thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The restaurant industry is urging Congress against increasing the federal minimum wage, warning that restaurants would suffer from a fast-tracked wage boost amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) announced on Tuesday that they will be introducing a bill that would increase the minimum wage while also requiring employers to verify the immigration status of workers.