Senate Republicans are setting their sights on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, as their next target in the battle over Biden’s Cabinet.
Republicans, on the cusp of quashing Neera Tanden’s nomination to head the White House budget office, are looking for their next scalp and see Becerra as a tough vote for Democrats.
They argue that Becerra, who served for 24 years in the House before becoming California’s attorney general in 2017, lacks the medical or administrative background needed to lead the nation’s health agencies in the midst of a pandemic.
“I would’ve been willing to vote for somebody, absolutely, but you’ve got to at least know something about the subject matter,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who said Becerra seemed at a loss answering his questions before the Senate Health and Finance Committees this week.
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}
Biden’s choices of ministers were all in Cuba already or on the way. So here we got another one who was coronavirused.
Let’s see. Trump’s second HHS Secretary was also an attorney, and a corporate executive of a pharmaceutical company. His first was a physician, but one who belonged to a junk science organization.
Bush’s second was an executive of a property casualty insurance company. Bush 43’s first was an attorney and career politician.
Admittedly the Obama and Clinton appointees weren’t any better qualified. You have to Bush 41’s HHS secretary Louis Sullivan to get someone who had a real health and administrative backgrounds. Where were these Republicans for the past 30 years? This is all partisan hackery.
It is a long shot. Tandenwas doomed from the start, her positions were indefensible. Becerra may be a nincompoop, but he hasn’t preemptively shot himself in the leg.