Senate confirms Xavier Becerra as secretary of Health and Human Services, making him the first Latino to hold the position

• The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Xavier Becerra as HHS secretary.
• Becerra is the first Latino to run the sprawling department.
• He will be tasked with overseeing the country's health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of Health and Human Services, making him the first Latino to hold the position and placing the lawyer in a highly-consequential role overseeing the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate voted 50-49, with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine being the only GOP lawmaker who joined her Democratic colleagues to vote in favor of Becerra.

President Joe Biden in December nominated Becerra to run the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has an annual budget of over $1 trillion and employs roughly 80,000 people. The department has a lengthy portfolio that includes vaccine development and health insurance programs for millions of Americans.

Shortly after his nomination, Becerra emphasized his intention to support the department's mission, especially in the wake of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 538,000 Americans, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

"It is our turn to build up and to back up our doctors and medical professionals, our hospitals and clinics, battling the coronavirus; our turn to restore faith and confidence in our leaders to deliver solutions that unite and heal us and inoculate us from fear; our turn to spur our brightest minds to launch the next generation of innovative medicines and cures," he said.

While discussing the pain of loved ones who were unable to physically comfort dying relatives and friends due to the contagious nature of the coronavirus, Becerra highlighted the "human" element of the department.

"No one should ever have to die alone in a hospital bed, loved ones forced to stay away," he said. "That seems so contrary to the values of a great nation - the values that drew my parents, like generations before and after them, to come to America."

Becerra, a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School, served in the House from 1993 to 2017, representing a Los Angeles-based congressional district.

As a member of the House, he played a major role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010.

In 2016, Becerra was tapped by then-Gov. Jerry Brown to fill the expired term of then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who had recently been elected to represent the state in the Senate.

As California's attorney general, Becerra staunchly defended the Affordable Care Act from former President Donald Trump's protracted attempt to overturn the legislation.

In all, Becerra filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration.

As HHS secretary, Becerra will be tasked with managing the response to an unprecedented health crisis that has afflicted virtually every part of the world since last year. The US is in the midst of a mass vaccination campaign, with 100 million people having received COVID-19 shots as of March 12.

While Becerra was widely supported by Senate Democrats, many Republicans, including GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, argued that the HHS needed a doctor to run the department in the face of the daunting challenges presented by COVID-19.

"President Biden has nominated an attorney - someone who lacks the necessary experience and skills to serve as Secretary of HHS," Cruz said last month. "Voting to confirm an HHS Secretary with absolutely no medical or scientific experience is simply irresponsible."

Still, Cruz's opposition and pushback from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana didn't stop Becerra's successful confirmation. It's unclear who will replace Becerra as California's attorney general.