Senate gives a nod to Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services secretary
On Thursday, Senate-confirmed Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services secretary. Aims to contain COVID-19 and achieve a semblance of normal life by summer.
Becerra, California’s attorney general, won by a narrow margin of 50-49 in a Senate that was evenly split by party. Almost all Republicans opposed his nomination, questioning his health-care experience and past support for “Medicare for All.”
Becerra, the first Latino, to lead HHS. Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Becerra “has decades of standing up for working and middle-class Americans in Congress, fighting to protect and expand Medicare, Medicaid, and working to safeguard our health care system from attacks by the Trump administration.”
Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, vote in favor eliminated the need for Vice President Kamala Harris to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Becerra will take a major role in one of the federal government’s most daunting undertakings ever. HHS will help to facilitate Covid-19 vaccinations and testing efforts as health officials hope widespread inoculation will beat back a mutating virus and allow businesses and schools to reopen.
Becerra became the 20th member of the president’s Cabinet confirmed by the Senate. The chamber has turned its attention to filling out the executive branch since its passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill earlier this month.
Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing last month, Becerra said he understands “the enormous challenges before us.” He said he would work not only to contain the virus but also to boost access to affordable health care.
He represented California in the U.S. House from 1993 to 2017.
