Neera Tanden tapped for high-powered White House staff secretary role

Neera Tanden will take over as White House staff secretary seven months after her name was withdrawn as President Joe Biden's nominee to direct the Office of Management and Budget.

Tanden will start on Monday after current staff secretary Jessica Hertz vacates the role Friday, administration sources confirmed to the Washington Examiner. Tanden will report to chief of staff Ron Klain.

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"The staff secretary role is the central nervous system of the White House and moves the decision-making process and manages a wide variety of issues for the president," an official said. "Neera has over two decades of experience in policy and management, which are critical elements of the role. Her experience across domestic, economic, and national security policy will be a key asset in this new role."

Tanden was tapped as a White House senior adviser after it became clear in March that not enough Senate Democrats or Republicans would confirm her as budget chief. From centrist West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, many had expressed concerns about her partisan rhetoric, leadership style, and corporate donor ties as the president and CEO of Center of American Progress.

"She’s working on passage of Build Back Better, particularly pushing outside support, and have done that since August. She is overseeing a government reform initiative alongside OMB, which stems in part from her work overseeing the United States Digital Service on behalf of the chief of staff’s office. And she worked on our response to the Supreme Court review of the ACA," the source added, referring to the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

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Hertz was a lawyer for the Obama administration, serving as counselor to the U.S. deputy attorney general. She joined Facebook's government affairs office before returning to the public sector.