“Dr. Murthy's extraordinary medical and public health accomplishments show that he is well-qualified to continue that mission and I am confident that Dr. Murthy will help to greatly improve the health of Americans today and long into the future,” Harkin added.
However, the top Republican on the panel Senator Lamar Alexander voted against Murthy in the panel.
“Dr. Murthy is obviously talented, but his experience does not measure up to the stature and leadership expected of our surgeons general,” he said.
The powerful gun lobby, meanwhile, has threatened to block Murthy's appointment because of the Indian-American's "activist" stand on gun
control.
“The Surgeon General has the important tasks of providing the American public with information to better inform decisions related to their health and directing much of the federal government's public health efforts,” the National Rifle Association said in a letter to the Senate leadership.
“In order for these roles to be carried out effectively, the public must trust that the Surgeon General's actions are based on empirical and scientific evidence, rather than political or ideological motives,” it said in a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“In this regard, Murthy's record of political activism in support of radical gun control measures raises significant concerns about his ability to objectively examine issues pertinent to America's 100 million firearm owners and the likelihood he would use the office of Surgeon General to further his preexisting campaign against gun ownership,” it said.
