WASHINGTON (AP) – Rep. Tom Price, President Donald Trump’s choice to be health secretary, is the latest of a handful of Cabinet nominees to eke out a confirmation victory in a bitterly divided Senate.
Following the pattern of strictly party-line votes on two previous nominees – Attorney General-designate Sen. Jeff Sessions and Betsy DeVos for Education secretary – the Georgia congressman was approved early Friday on a 52-47 vote. Former Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson fared somewhat better than Sessions and DeVos, but still won confirmation for secretary of state by only a 56-43 margin.
Two other controversial Trump selections are set for votes Monday. By a 53-46 margin, the Senate ended procedural hurdles to financier Steven Mnuchin’s nomination to be Treasury secretary. Final approval for Mnuchin and for physician David Shulkin to be veterans affairs secretary was set for Monday.
Minority Democrats have used Senate rules, where possible, to delay elevation of some Trump’s nominees. And following Price’s confirmation to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “The Republicans launch their first assault in their war on seniors.”
Democrats prolonged the debate on the 62-year-old Price until nearly 2 a.m. EST Friday, in arguments tinged with bitter accusations, reflecting the raw feelings enveloping Washington early in Trump’s presidency.