After a year-long wait in the face of stout Republican opposition, President Barack Obama’s nominee Vivek Hallegere Murthy has secured the Senate confirmation and is all set to take over as US Surgeon General.
At 37, the Harvard and Yale alumnus will be the youngest for the key post that also goes by the much-touted tag of “America’s Doctor”. And he will be the first-ever Indian-American to occupy the post. Within minutes of the confirmation, Obama put out a statement, assuring his countrymen: “As ‘America’s Doctor,’ Vivek will hit the ground running to make sure every American has the information they need to keep themselves and their families safe.”
Murthy, unquestionably the darling of all liberals but a lightning rod for conservatives because of his strong views against America’s gun culture, won the Senate confirmation rather narrowly (51-43) on Monday.
Even so, it is being viewed as a big victory, given that the gun lobby with its extensive clout on Capitol Hill had launched an all-out campaign to keep Murthy out. The National Rifles Association (NRA) had approached several Democrats as well, prompting the White House to wait it out until after conclusion of the Congressional elections in November. The strategy paid off.
In a 2012 tweet on the guns issue that came to haunt Murthy during the long confirmation process, the young doctor had commented: “Tired of politicians playing politics w/guns, putting lives at risk b/c they’re scared of NRA. Guns are a health care issue.”
Murthy has a stellar academic record that will be the envy of many, be it in India or in America. A valedictorian at his high school, Murthy graduated from Harvard and then went to Yale to acquire an MD and MBA as well. He returned to Harvard, this time to teach medicine.
His academic brilliance notwithstanding, many Senators, mostly Republicans, questioned his experience for the Surgeon General’s job. They dubbed him a political activist and campaign enthusiast for Obama and his subsequent Affordable Care Act, popularly called “Obamacare”.
But Obama’s confidence in Murthy remained undiminished. “He’ll bring his lifetime of experience promoting public health to bear on priorities ranging from stopping new diseases to helping our kids grow up healthy and strong,” Obama said on Monday, adding: “Vivek will also help us build on the progress we’ve made combatting Ebola, both in our country and at its source.”
In the Senate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin led the push for Murthy, highlighting his dedication to fighting obesity, tobacco related diseases and other chronic diseases that account for seven out of the top 10 causes for death in America and account for 84 per cent of America’s health care costs.
But Republican Senator John Barrasso dubbed Murthy’s appointment “just another example of President Obama giving someone an important job based solely upon their support of the President’s political career”, adding Murthy has been “an activist focused on gun control and political campaigns”.
Through the year-long controversy, Murthy’s nomination was backed by over 100 public health and medical organisations including the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association.
Murthy, who has been the co-founder and president of Doctors for America since 2009 alongside teaching medicine at Harvard, is also the co-founder of VISIONS Worldwide, a non-profit body that focuses on HIV/AIDS education in India and the US.