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Tom Price Tag

Voting along party lines, the Senate has confirmed Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Democrats once again held the Senate to a 30 hour debate to change minds of the Republicans, but failed once again. This is a huge first step for Republicans in Congress who want to repeal and replace Obamacare, which Price "has been prominent in pushing alternatives" to the law.

Senate Republicans found a way to end the Democrat boycott of approval votes for President Donald Trump's Cabinet. The Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee changed the rule stating at least one member from each party must attend a meeting for the committee to do its work. The Democrats boycotted the hearing yesterday to approve Human and Health Services Secretary nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) and Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin. They boycotted Wednesday's meeting, which forced Republicans to take action:
“It’s just another way of roughing up the president’s nominees,” said committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “They have been treated fairly. We have not been treated fairly.”

A member of Trump's transition team confirmed Monday night that the president-elect has selected Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to serve as the Secretary of Heath and Human Services. Rep. Price has been the Chair of the House Budget Committee these last two years, working closely with Speaker Ryan o deficit reduction. An orthopedic surgeon, Rep. Price has been a vocal opponent of Obamacare for it's high costs and obstruction of quality patient care. Unlike many members of the Outrage Brigade, Rep. Price has solutions to the Obamacare problem. From the New York Times: