“In my time in Washington, I've watched congressmen, senators and their advisors allow similarly stark polling data to shape their calculus on countless occasions. But the problem is polls can be amongst the worst basis for a politician to make a good decision about their self-interest.”

American political consultant

Neera Tanden is an American political consultant and former government official. She is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank, and served in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025. Tanden was director of the United States Domestic Policy Council from 2023 to 2025. Before that, she was a senior advisor and staff secretary to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023. She had already spent years with the Center for American Progress, including a previous tenure as its president, after working there in different roles since its founding in 2003.