Neera Tanden withdraws her nomination as White House budget chief
Washington: In a major setback to US President Joe Biden, Indian-American Neera Tanden on Tuesday withdrew her nomination as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, after the ruling party and the administration failed to muster enough votes in the Senate to secure her confirmation.
Tanden, 50, had been facing a tough time for the confirmation of her nomination over her past Twitter outbursts against several lawmakers, including those from her own Democratic Party.
Biden accepted her withdrawal and indicated that Tanden might be brought in the administration in some other capacity.
Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden's nominees. Eleven of the 23 Cabinet nominees requiring Senate approval have been confirmed, most with strong bipartisan support.
"I have accepted Neera Tanden's request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget," Biden said in a statement.
The President indicated that she will have a role to play in his administration.
"I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work," Biden said.
Earlier in a letter to Biden, Tanden said it has been an "honour of a lifetime to be considered for this role and for the faith placed in me. "I am writing to you to withdraw my nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget," she wrote.
"I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation. Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities," Tanden said in the letter.
"I am incredibly grateful for your leadership on behalf of the American people and for your agenda that will make such a transformative difference in people's lives," she wrote.
Tanden's nomination was in jeopardy because of hundreds of her tweets against several Republican and Democratic Senators, who in turn vowed to vote against her during the Senate confirmation.
She reportedly deleted more than 1,000 tweets before her confirmation process started. Tanden had apologised to senators during her confirmation hearings last month.
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Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas assumes charge as IAF AOC-in-C, training command
Bengaluru (PTI): Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command, Indian Air Force on Thursday.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Shrinivas was commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF on 13 June 1987, an official statement said.
Air Marshal Shrinivas is a ‘Category A' Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4,200 hours of flying experience on MiG-21, Iskra, Kiran, PC-7 Mk II, HPT-32 and Microlite amongst other aircraft.
The AOC-in-C is also qualified as a second pilot on Chetak / Cheetah helicopter and a categorised Operations Officer on the Pechora missile system.
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The Air Marshal has held a number of command appointments in his career.
He has been the Commandant of the Air Force Academy, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of a frontline fighter base on the Western border, and a premier flying training base, AOC Advance HQ Western Air Command (Jaipur), Commanding Officer of the prestigious Flying Instructors’ School, Commandant of the Institute of Aerospace Safety and CO of Basic Flying Training School.
His staff and other appointments include Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel Officers), Chief Instructor (Flying) at Air Force Academy, Ops Staff at HQ Central Air Command and Directing Staff at College of Air Warfare. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ SWAC.
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Air Marshal Shrinivas is a graduate of National Defence College, College of Defence Management and Defence Services Staff College. His educational qualifications include Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies, Master of Management Studies and Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies.
In recognition of his meritorious services, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2017 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024 by the President of India.
After assumption of his new appointment, the Air Marshal paid homage to bravehearts by laying a wreath at the Training Command War Memorial.
