Recently, President Biden withdrew Neera Tanden’s appointment as head of the Office of Management and Budget, Republicans are now seeking to avoid confirmation by Health and Human Services nominee Xavier Becerra.
Hours after Tanden asked to be removed from consideration due to opposition from both sides of the corridor, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Becerra’s nomination on Wednesday morning. Several Republicans have already expressed concern over Becerra’s professional experience, believing that California’s attorney general is not qualified to lead the HHS.
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“I would be willing to vote for someone, for sure, but you need to at least know something about it,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., After Becerra’s confirmation hearing, according to The Hill.
“If I, as a doctor, were appointed attorney general of the United States of America, what would you think? This is kind of weird,” he continued.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Also called Becerra’s appointment “an intriguing selection for this critical position”, and Fox News found that Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of the Committee Finance, plans to vote against Becerra.
Xavier Becerra speaks during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Health and Human Services before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at the Capitol, in Washington. (Leigh Vogel / Pool via AP)
((Leigh Vogel / Pool via AP))
If the majority of the committee – whose members are divided equally between Democrats and Republicans – does not agree to report favorably to the Senate on Becerra’s nomination, he can still choose to report without any recommendation. This would still allow the entire Senate to move forward with its vote.
Scheduled to coincide with Wednesday’s vote, the conservative Heritage Action for America group is launching an advertising campaign aimed at West Virginia and Arizona, the homes of moderate Democrats Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Although none of the senators is on the Finance Committee, their decisions when nominations are brought to the Senate floor can be critical. If each Republican opposes a nominee, a negative vote by either Democrat would be enough to override a cabinet choice.
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“Becerra has no medical experience, unless you count on prosecuting Catholic nuns trying to force them to pay for abortions,” says the Heritage Action for America’s Arizona ad, referring to her role in a case against the Catholic group Little Sisters of the Poor. The case addressed the requirement that organizations provide employees with insurance to cover contraception, including some that allegedly result in early abortion. Although Becerra did not initiate proceedings against the Little Sisters of the Poor, the group became a defendant after intervening.
The Heritage Action for America’s West Virginia ad calls Becerra’s indication “a big test for Joe Manchin”, claiming that HHS’s choice “wants to ban” weapons. A third ad points to Becerra’s support for socialized medicine and calls him “a radical supporter, an activist, not a doctor”.
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When asked whether the senators reached a decision on Becerra’s nomination, Sinema’s office said she did not foresee the votes and Manchin’s did not respond. Heritage Action for America hopes that its advertising campaign will get them to vote no, and has already spent at least $ 500,000 on its ads.
“President Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, has spent his entire career fighting for socialized medical care, serving the abortion industry, trampling Americans’ religious freedom and promoting money group policies. liberal black, “said Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, in a statement. “If confirmed, he would bring his extreme agenda to HHS. Heritage Action is working to expose the radical personnel and policies being promoted by this government, and we are asking all senators to reject Becerra’s nomination.”