WASHINGTON — Republicans have driven President Donald Trump’s choice for health secretary through a testy Senate in a party-line vote.
The 52-47 roll call early Friday means Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) will head the Department of Health and Human Services. He’ll help lead the Republican push to erase President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and the administration will likely issue regulations aimed at curbing the law.
It was the Senate’s fourth consecutive contested vote for a Trump cabinet secretary. Partisan battles for cabinet posts are usually rare, but the first weeks of Trump’s presidency have seen little collegiality between the two sides.
Price is a veteran House member and orthopedic surgeon whom Republicans call a knowledgeable pick for the job. Democrats say he’s an ideologue whose policies would snatch care away from many Americans.