Washington Post blames 'racist' Senate for not confirming Biden's nominees

The Washington Post published an article on Wednesday suggesting that Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate oppose a number of Biden nominees on the grounds of racism and sexism.

The article uses the case of Neera Tanden, Biden's nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, as their first example, noting that she is an Indian-American woman. "Many of these nominees are still likely to go forward along mostly partisan lines, but with their qualifications scrutinized more closely and their reputations attacked more forcefully than their White counterparts, activists say."

There was no mention of the Republicans enthusiastically nominating former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is also Indian-American, to be the American Ambassador to the United Nations under former President Donald Trump.

Tanden's behaviour over the years has sparked controversy during her nomination, causing moderate Republicans and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) to announce their opposition to their nomination. The former president of the Center for American Progress has previously suggested that America should forcefully take Libya's oil as a form of payment for supporting the overthrow of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, spread conspiracy theories surrounding the results of the 2016 presidential election, and once openly named a victim of sexual assault at her own organization. She has also physically assaulted on of her own employees in the past.

None of these specific controversies are mentioned in the article from the Washington Post.

The article then turns its attention to Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), noting that Republicans have described her as a "radical" without explaining what positions Republicans refer to. Republicans have expressed concern over Haaland's views on oil drilling, noting that she is an opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline and a supporter of the Green New Deal.

However, the article focuses around Haaland's nomination to be the "first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior."

The article goes on to mention Kristen Clarke, Biden's nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, who "has been accused of being insensitive to Jewish people because she invited the author of an antisemitic book to speak at Harvard."

The speaker in question, a man named Tony Martin, wrote a book titled The Jewish Onslaught, but he has been accused of more than writing a single antisemitic book. Martin has a record of speaking before the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust denial organization, and has spread conspiracy theories alleging that Jews were behind the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

"Professor Martin is an intelligent, well-versed black intellectual who bases his information on indisputable fact," Clarke said at the time. Such praises of a notable antisemite has led to questions over whether she is fit to run the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, as Jewish people are the religious group which falls victims to the most hate crimes.

Clark also wrote a letter to the Harvard Crimson in 1994 where she promoted black supremacy, writing "Dr. Richard King reveals that the core of the human brain is the 'locus coeruleus,' which is a structure that is black because it contains large amounts of neuromelanin, which is essential for its operation to black infant." Her letter finished by arguing that "[melanin] endows blacks with greater mental, physical, and spiritual abilities, something which cannot be measured based on Euro centric standards."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman Scott Sloofman defended the decision by Republicans to not support many of these candidates, describing the claims of racism and sexism playing a role in the nomination process as "ridiculous."

Sloofman noted that 41 Democrats voted against nominating former housing secretary Ben Carson, who is black, and six Democrats opposed the nomination of former transportation secretary Elaine Chow, who is Asian-American.

He also pointed out that Biden Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin, UN Ambassador nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Homeland Security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, all of whom are not white, were supported by both Democrats and Republicans for the nomination.

"Senate Republicans are opposing these people because they are out of the mainstream and it has nothing to do with race," he said.