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The vote was 50 to 49. Senator Susan Collins of the Maine GOP joined Senate Democrats in favor of the nomination. Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono did not vote.
During the confirmation process, Becerra highlighted her upbringing, the recent death of her father, and her efforts to expand access to health care as California attorney general and 24-year-old congressman representing a district based in Los Angeles.
The vast majority of Republicans in the Senate opposed Becerra’s nomination for his support for abortion rights and his lack of experience as a medical professional.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Becerra’s experience and lambasted Republicans’ arguments against him, saying they “were almost on the verge of ridicule.”
“They complain loudly that he has no direct experience as a medical professional,” he said. “Even though Republicans voted en bloc to install Alex Azar, a pharmaceutical executive who raised drug prices and tried to undermine our nation’s health care law as previous HHS secretary.”
“I understand the enormous challenges we face and our solemn responsibility to be loyal directors of an agency that touches almost every aspect of our lives,” Becerra said at a nomination hearing in February.
The former California attorney general has been a leading advocate for the Affordable Care Act in court. As the Trump administration joined a coalition of Republican attorneys general to strike down the landmark healthcare reform law, Becerra led a group of Democratic attorneys general on why the law remains valid. The question was whether Congress reducing the sentence for not having health insurance to zero made the individual mandate unconstitutional and brought down the law as a whole.
Becerra has also been a strong advocate for women’s health, the rights of undocumented immigrants, and Medicare for All.
Of the 23 Cabinet-level positions to be considered by the Senate, 20 have now been confirmed.
CNN’s Jasmine Wright and Tami Luhby contributed to this report.
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