After weeks of scrutiny by Democratic members of the Senate, it was a late night vote that confirmed Rep. Tom Price as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The 52-47 vote was “along party lines” according to KTLA and was pushed late due to “procedural delays” by Democratic members of the Senate:
Democrats opposed Price, a Republican from Georgia, because he is a key architect of undoing the Affordable Care Act and has advocated making major changes to Medicare.
Their suspicions were deepened when it was revealed Price traded health care stocks while having oversight duties of the health care industry. Price has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Price was sworn in late Thursday morning, and as Fox News notes, he’s expected to be the point person in the GOP’s ongoing quest to dismantle Obamacare. In fact, this may be one of the final dominoes left to fall before a full fleshing out of the new policy occurs. One month ago, Congress stormed out the gate, ready to do away with Obama’s signature plan without a replacement in hand. Now, they’ve got a real shot at accomplishing this objective, once Price settles into the gig, although understandable fears from millions remain.
Naturally, Price had faced hefty criticism from several high-profile Democrats. This includes Sen. Al Franken who told Price that he was “very frightened” by the plans to unravel the ACA, “something that has given a lot of Americans peace of mind.” Sen. Bernie Sanders also lashed out at Price during his confirmation hearing over his assertion that the United States is a “compassionate country”:
“No we are not a compassionate society in terms of our relationship to poor and working people, our record is worse than virtually every other country.
Price’s confirmation should ease tensions with the GOP and its supporters. This includes Matt Drudge of Drudge Report who called for the GOP to be “sued for fraud” over not making taxes and Obamacare their top priority. With Price in position, whatever is in store for Obamacare can likely move forward.