President Obama’s long-delayed nomination for surgeon general finally is facing a Senate vote late Monday, with his confirmation expected despite Republican opposition over his stance on gun control.
Vivek Murthy, a Harvard and Yale graduate, was nominated more than a year ago with widespread backing from the medical community. The Senate health committee approved his nomination in February along a mostly partisan vote.
But his nomination since has languish amid Republican questions about his bona fides, particularly his co-founding of a political group in 2008 that advocated for the creation of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say his association with Doctors for America — initially called Doctors for Obama — makes him unsuited to be the nation’s leading spokesman for healthcare issues.
“The American people deserve a surgeon general who has proven throughout his or her career that their main focus is a commitment to patients, not a commitment to politics,” said Sen. John Barrasso. R-Wyo., on the Senate floor Monday.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., earlier this year placed a procedural hurdle preventing Murthy’s confirmation to be fast-tracked, saying he had “serious concerns about his ability to impartially serve as the “nation’s doctor.”
“The majority of Dr. Murthy’s non-clinical experience is in political advocacy,” said Paul in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Doctors for America describes itself as “not affiliated with any partisan group or with the administration” and says it doesn’t endorse or support any candidates or groups.
Conservatives also have blasted Murthy for pressing for more strict gun control laws and for calling gun violence a “healthcare issue.”
In a widely circulated Twitter post in 2012, Murthy suggested that Congress for too long has capitulated to the wishes of the influential gun lobby, writing that he was “tired of politicians playing politics w/guns, putting lives at risk b/c they’re scared of NRA.”
The National Rifle Association fought back, saying a Murthy confirmation would pose a “serious threat” to the rights of gun owners.
“Dr. Murthy’s political activism on behalf of a radical gun control agenda compromises his ability to speak to a broad segment of the American public on questions of health and science,” said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s lobby arm, in a letter last week to the Senate’s party leaders.
Murthy has promised that, if confirmed, he wouldn’t use the surgeon general’s post as a bully pulpit for gun control.
Still, Murthy overall has been less controversial than some past surgeon general nominees and is expected to be easily confirmed this week, possibly as early as Monday evening. His nomination requires only a simple majority in the 100-seat chamber, and none of the 55 members of the Democratic caucus are expected to vote against him. He also is expected to pick up at least a few GOP votes.
“He isn’t in this position of being nominated simply because of his political activity,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on the Senate floor Monday. “He has an extraordinary backing of individuals in the medical profession.”
And Democrats say that with fear of Ebola epidemic still lingering in the United States, it would be reckless not to fill the position of surgeon general, which has been vacant since July 2013.
“Not having a recognizable, trusted source available to convey critical information, debunk erroneous claims and assuage fears has put us at a severe disadvantage in a time of great need,” said Connecticut Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy in a joint statement in October.
“The position of surgeon general exists exactly for these moments — times when misinformation about a deadly virus spreads far faster than the virus itself.”
