In his first defeat in the Senate ... Biden withdraws the nomination of the Director of the Budget Office and a congressional committee approves his candidate to lead the CIA.

US President Joe Biden announced - Tuesday - the withdrawal of Nira Tandin’s candidacy to run the Office of Administration and Budget at the White House, while the Senate Intelligence Committee approved his candidate for the position of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Biden withdrew the candidacy of Tandin after the categorical refusal of prominent lawmakers to confirm her in this position, in the first defeat for the Democratic president in the Senate.

"I have accepted Nira Tandin's request to withdraw her candidacy for the position of director of the Office of Management and Budget," Biden said in a statement.

This decline came after a number of moderate Republican lawmakers, in addition to one Democratic senator, announced that they would vote against the confirmation of this woman, due to statements she made in the past that included violent criticism of a number of senators.

The director of the Office of Management and Budget in the White House enjoys wide influence, especially as he is responsible for setting the budget the president wants and evaluating the projects and expenses of his ministers.

Since announcing her candidacy for the position, Tandin has become the target of criticism from lawmakers from both parties, with Republicans saying they are outraged by her previously violent criticism of several senators, while progressives close to Senator Bernie Sanders have deemed her too moderate.

But the bullet of mercy on her candidacy was finally fired by Democratic Senator Joe Mansion from West Virginia, who said in late February, "I think her overly partisan statements will have toxic and negative repercussions on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Bureau of Management and Budget." He added, "For this reason, I cannot support her appointment."

The United States Senate has the power to approve or reject presidential nominations for key positions in government, and presidential nominations are confirmed by at least 51 votes.

The Democrats in the Senate have a very small majority, as they share the House equally with the Republicans (50-50), but Vice President Kamala Harris, who is constitutionally serving as Speaker of the House, can vote whenever she wants, which enables her, when necessary, to tip the balance in favor of her Democratic party.

This balance of power means that the defection of any Democratic member must be compensated for by another Republican vote.

On Tuesday, the White House tried to persuade some Republican senators to vote for Tanden, but his attempt apparently failed.

According to the White House statement, Tandin wrote to Biden in the letter asking him to withdraw her candidacy: "I appreciate how hard you and your team work in the White House."

"Unfortunately, it is now clear that my confirmation is not possible, and I do not want the consideration of my appointment to distract attention from your other priorities," she added.

Burns CIA Lead Nomination Approved

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, announced that the committee agreed on Tuesday unanimously to nominate President Joe Biden, veteran diplomat William Burns, for the position of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

"The bipartisan vote overwhelmingly in favor of (appointing) Ambassador Burns is testament to the candidate's indisputable qualifications for the role, his long experience in national security affairs and his commendable commitment to public work," he said in a statement.

Warner expressed his hope that the entire council would move to "confirm the nomination of Ambassador Burns without undue delay."

Burns - a former ambassador to Russia and a former deputy secretary of state - said in a session confirming his candidacy last month that competing with China and facing its "hostile leadership that tends to dominate others" is important for US national security.

"After meeting Ambassador Burns, I believe that he understands the nature of the Chinese threat and the other threats facing our nation," Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican member of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

Burns said during the session that if he was president of an American college or university, he would recommend closing the Confucius Institutes, which are university cultural centers funded by China and which many members of Congress say are propaganda tools.

He added that other "familiar" threats facing the United States are those represented by Russia, North Korea and Iran, adding that climate change, global health issues and cyber threats pose great risks.

Among the issues related to Russia that Burns and other heads of intelligence services are expected to deal with at the beginning of the Biden administration is the investigation of cyberattacks on US government, private and local data networks.