Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) went on the offensive against President Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. The ad targets vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection in 2022, and frames Becerra as an ideological equivalent to self-proclaimed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Though Becerra’s confirmation is likely, Cotton hopes to put vulnerable Democrats on notice and hold them accountable for their support of Becerra.
Xavier Becerra, Biden's nominee for HHS, is an unqualified radical who enforced California's disastrous lockdowns.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 22, 2021
Any Senator supporting him will pay a price with voters.
Watch my ad running against Dem Senators up in '22. pic.twitter.com/23GfnbiAU5
Becerra has supported Medicare for All, and sued Catholic nuns over the contraceptive mandate during his tenure as California Attorney General. Republican lawmakers, also led by Cotton, pressed Biden to withdraw Becerra's nomination all together.
Republicans want Biden to withdraw his HHS nomination. Here’s what’s wrong with Xavier Becerra:
— Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) February 22, 2021
•no health-care experience
•supports partial-birth and sex-selective abortion
•used his AG position to shut down churches and bully pro-lifers
•wants Americans to pay for abortion
Conservative advocacy groups are also hitting the airwaves with attacks on Becerra's far-left record ahead of his Senate confirmation. The targeted senators include Maggie Hassan (NH) and Raphael Warnock (GA), who both face reelection in 2022 as Democrats hope to defend their historically slim majority. Becerra’s confirmation before the Senate HELP and Finance committees for evaluation starting on Tuesday, followed by a full floor vote.