Senate Confirms Dr. Vivek Murthy as New U.S. Surgeon General

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed new U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. Lawmakers voted 57 to 43 to confirm Dr. Murthy with 7 Republican Senators joining all 50 Democrats in support of his nomination. Biden is the first President in over 30 years to have all of his original cabinet secretary nominees confirmed to their posts as the 15 major agency heads. Murthy was the top health advisor during the Biden campaign and was part of Biden’s public health advisory committee as the pandemic first broke out and he served as co-chair of the President-elects Covid-19 advisory board during the transition. He also held the role of U.S. Surgeon General under the Obama Administration from 2014 to 2017. Murthy also helped lead the national response to the Ebola and Zika viruses as well as the Opioid crisis.