The Senate confirmation hearing for
Neera Tanden has begun.
She has been tapped by Joe Biden to
head the Office of Management and
Budget.
It's an incredibly important
government agency and I would like
someone who is not tied to all
sorts of corporations and
corporate actors,
someone who has all these conflicts
of interest, I don't think
should be serving in that role.
But I don't really need to make
that case because some Republicans
made it for me.
Now, this first video comes
from Senator Josh Hawley,
who's an insurrectionists and
he's disgusting.
However, the line of questioning
here is relevant and
I believe accurate, so take a look.
>> $665,000 I think for
the personal foundation of
Mr Zuckerberg, millions of dollars
from Wall Street financiers,
big banks, foreign governments,
Silicon Valley.
Million dollars from the managing
partner at Bain Capital,
$2.5 million from the UAE,
that was between 2016 and 2018.
Given this record, how can you
insure us that you'll work to see
if the Silicon Valley and
Wall Street firms don't exercise
undue influence.
Frankly, influence that
they they've already got,
in the making of government policy
and the control of our economy.
I mean how can you assure us that
you're going to be an independent
actor when you've been
an independent actor, when you've
been so close to them to raise so
much money over all these years.
>> I really appreciate that
question and I would say I and
the center for American progress
aggressively take on the positions,
take on the role of Facebook and
tech companies, have called for
higher taxes and companies
regulations of Wall Street,
Financial transaction tax.
I'm proud of the record of
the Center for American Progress
and policies that will limit
the power of Wall Street and
limit the power of tech companies.
Now again, this line of questioning
has to do with the clients that
the Center for American Progress
worked with, how much they spent on
the Center for American Progress.
Especially when Neera Tanden was
the president for the Center for
American Progress, a think tank,
which I've said it before, I'll say
it again think tanks are nothing
more than an opportunity for
lobbyists to launder money.
And try to skirt the types of
regulations, what few regulations
we have on lobbying.
So I don't really have much respect
for Center for American Progress or
any other think tank that gets
cited by the mainstream media as if
they're credible organizations
that should be cited.
So I like that line of questioning,
what did you think, Francesca?
>> I mean yeah, it's sad that it
had to come from Josh Holly, right?
Like, why Holly?
Why like you you started to go,
in the right direction,
not the right direction,
he's on the right the point is,
is he seemed like a better actor
before January 6.
I will say like I know
that Neera Tanden is not the worst
pick for this office.
I know I don't remember their name
but there is there are people who
are much farther to the right.
That being said as someone who's
consistently sort of progressive
blocked whether on Medicare for
all or, just like this onslaught
against Bernie Sanders and
his folks like I do not like
Neera Tanden.
But I do think it's important that
she did talk about like her when
she was growing up in the United
States child of immigrants, she was
on food stamps, then her mom got
a job like she knows what it is to
be reliant on the government.
I don't want to discount that or
discredit that experience,
that's something that I think very
few people in Washington have.
But at the same time like,
she's a total insider and
I wish we had someone better on
the table than Neera and it is sad
that we're relying on people like
Holly to ask these hard questions.
>> I know it really is a depressing
story when you think about it and
all the actors involved, but
this is a problem that I actually
have with
several of Joe Biden's nominees.
And now, Janet Yellen was another
example, Janet Yellen, because it's
the conflict of interest, right.
It's the influence that Wall Street
or the corporate world has on these
people who would head incredibly
important government agencies in
the case of Janet Yellen,
she's now the treasury secretary.
She was confirmed easily.
And then that's because the thing
that Janet .Yellen engaged in that
I disagree with that the rest
of Congress doesn't seem to have
a problem with it.
Is the $2.7 million that she made
in Wall street speeches,
giving Wall street speeches,
not like 10 years ago guys,
over the last two years,
over the last two years.
That is a problem but
she's not a banker >> So that's
the thing it's like it's like we're
in such a muck that we have to be
great like some are like well look
she's not she she's not an actual
former Wall Street banker so like.
>> Does it matter though she's I
know she's going to weigh in on
issues that impact bankers and Wall
Street and you know she by them.
>> Exactly, yes,
it's slim pickings, and
that's actually a reason why when
it comes to democratic leadership,
how can there be like a larger base
of leaders?
Folks like the squad,
folks who come from places like
the public education system like
representative Jamal Bowman rather
than just people come from
the inside, right?
Just people who come from
the already designated elite.