Tom Price Confirmed As Health Secretary

Despite concerns about a controversial stock purchase and a series of moves by Democrats to delay a vote, Georgia Congressman Tom Price was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the secretary of health early Friday morning.

The Senate approved Price's nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services around 2 a.m. Friday morning in a vote along party lines, voting 52-to-47 to approve another of President Donald Trump's cabinet members.

Price is a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act and comes in with expectations to play a key role in designing the GOP's potential replacement for it. He has also talked about defunding parts of Medicare and Medicaid, raising fears among Democrats of fewer healthcare services being available to recipients of both.

"I feel passionately about the fact that this is the wrong person to serve in that job," New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said during a speech on Thursday before the vote. "He seems to have no higher priority than to terminate health coverage for millions of people across this country."

During his nomination hearing, Price was accused by Democrats of using his position to buy stock in a company and lying about it to Congress during his testimony. Republicans moved to vote on sending the nomination to the Senate, rather than apply further scrutiny as Democrats wanted them to.

In an attempt to prevent Price's nomination from being sent to the full Senate, Democrats did not attend the committee vote, delaying it by a day -- leading Republicans to change the committee rules to allow a vote without Democrats participating.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a floor speech before Friday morning's vote that he thought Price's experience as an orthopedic surgeon before entering politics could help him create better healthcare policy.

Republicans see Price as an ideas man who can put together a replacement for the ACA, based on being one of the few members of the GOP to offer a plan.

"I think you have to admire that he was willing to make a serious proposal," Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said. "That's the kind of leadership we need."

Senate Republicans have expressed hope he will start easing regulatory requirements, such as those for maternity care and access to contraception. Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said such changes could lead to "more flexibility, and hopefully that means there'll be more competition in the marketplace."