West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) indicated on Thursday that he will vote to confirm President Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
NEW: Manchin will vote for Becerra to HHS, a clear sign he will be confirmed to the post
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 11, 2021
.@Sen_JoeManchin is officially a YES on Xavier Becerra’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as the West Wing exhales (again) pic.twitter.com/jcSVmyfrHq
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) March 11, 2021
Becerra received a tie vote on party lines in front of the Senate Finance Committee, forcing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to set up a discharge vote to advance Becerra out of committee.
Pursuant to S.Res.27, Leader Schumer has made a motion to discharge PN78-2 Xavier Becerra, of California, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services from the Senate Finance Committee.
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) March 10, 2021
The vote on the motion to discharge the Becerra nomination will occur at 12:00pm tomorrow.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that he opposes Becerra’s controversial nomination, while Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) remain undecided.
"He's just out of the mainstream of his own party with regards to abortion and with regards to religious freedom," Romney said of the nominee on Wednesday, referencing Becerra's lawsuits against Catholics nuns for non-compliance with the contraceptive mandate. Becerra claimed in his initial confirmation hearing that he never took such legal action while serving as Attorney General of California.
With Manchin’s support, Becerra’s confirmation is likely. The West Virginia Democratic lawmaker helped torpedo Biden's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden, who was eventually withdrawn.
