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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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
