Neera Tanden became President Joe Biden’s first Cabinet casualty on Tuesday when she withdrew her nomination to be budget director.
The Republicans who sank her have not accomplished much. Biden’s next nominee will be a little more or less progressive, and a little more or less competent, but not significantly different in any way that matters. The next nominee will, however, lack Tanden’s record of combative tweets against Republican senators. Those tweets were what kept her from being confirmed.
Tanden’s disappointed supporters are slamming her Republican opponents for hypocrisy. It’s not just that Republicans waited until just after Donald Trump’s presidency to start saying that mean tweets are disqualifying. They have also gotten more and more worked up about the excesses of "cancel culture” except when it comes to canceling Tanden.