As Sen. Manchin opposes Tanden nomination, Klain says 'he doesn't answer to us at the White House'

As President Biden's nomination of Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) faces a roadblock due to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said during an interview with MSNBC's Joy Reid that the senator "doesn't answer to us at the White House," but to West Virginians.

"He believes this is the right vote for him. We obviously disagree," Klain said, adding that Manchin had backed other nominations, and the White House is pursuing the senator's support of the president's coronavirus relief proposal. 

"I respect Joe Manchin's right to cast these votes. He's an independent-minded senator. That's what he's gonna do. We at the White House, we're gonna make our case to him and all the other Democrats and Republicans in the Senate on these key votes," Klain said.

Two Senate committee votes related to Tanden's nomination that had been slated for Wednesday were delayed, according to Bloomberg.