WASHINGTON — Kathleen Sebelius won Senate committee approval as health secretary over Republican opposition Tuesday, putting her on track for a final Senate vote.
Her expected confirmation would complete President Bar-ack Obama’s Cabinet, which held its first formal meeting Monday, without Sebelius.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 15-8 in favor of sending the nomination of Kansas’ two-term Democratic governor to the full Senate. Just two of 10 committee Republicans joined majority Democrats in voting “yes,” signaling GOP concerns over Sebelius’ ties to a Kansas abortion doctor, as well as some broader skepticism about Obama’s health care plans.
Republican senators were pressured by anti-abortion activists to oppose Sebelius. But the partisan vote sparked an angry response and an apparent threat from one committee Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.
“I was surprised by the fact that so few Republicans supported a moderate, qualified candidate like Gov. Sebelius,” Schumer said. “It’s an ominous signal of the level of cooperation we can expect from the Republicans on health care.”
Schumer then suggested that the vote was an invitation for Democrats to pass health care legislation using a controversial parliamentary maneuver that would pre-empt Republicans from mounting a filibuster to block passage.
Republicans have said such an approach would poison attempts to get a bipartisan deal on one of Obama’s priorities.
