WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 29: Alex Michael Azar II to be Health and Human Services Secretary attends full committee hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill on November 29, 2017, in Washington, DC.
The Senate has given Alex Azar the official nod, approving him as the nation’s new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The final vote was 55-43 in favor of Azar.
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In the hours leading up to the vote, some (like, unsurprisingly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) promoted Azar:
Today, the #Senate will vote to confirm @POTUS' nominee for @HHSGov, Alex Azar. It is vital that this department be headed by a leader with Mr. Azar’s extensive qualifications and excellent reputation.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) January 24, 2018
Others shared a different view:
I'm heading to the Senate Floor to urge my colleagues to join me in opposing Alex Azar’s nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) January 24, 2018
Alex Azar has made it clear that, as HHS Secretary, he will put politics over people by sabotaging our health care system and pursuing anti-women’s health policies. I will be voting no on his confirmation.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) January 23, 2018
The hashtag #SayNoToAzar was trending on Twitter prior to the Senate vote.
President Donald Trump nominated Azar in November following the resignation of former HHS Secretary Tom Price. It’s hard to forget the circumstances surrounding Price stepping down: A Politico investigation unveiled his private jet and government plane expenses had cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1 million.
As for Azar, he previously served as the president of Eli Lilly’s U.S. business. While working for Lilly USA, insulin prices increased. During his tenure as president, Eli Lilly was caught up in a lawsuit over the price of its insulin products.
In a November hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Azar denied he was personally involved in those pricing decisions.
“Drug prices are too high,” he said at the time. “The president has made this clear; so have I.”
Additionally, Azar served as HHS Deputy Secretary under George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007 and general counsel for the department from 2001 to 2005.
Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
