Senate HELP Committee advances Trump’s CDC, ASPR, Labor secretary nominees

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday voted to advance President Trump’s nominees to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

The committee voted 12-10 to move forward with Erica Schwartz’s nomination to serve as the next director of the CDC and 12-11 for Sean Kaufman to serve as the next administrator of ASPR. Trump’s nomination of Keith Sonderling to serve as Labor secretary also advanced 12-11.

At the start of the session, HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) voiced his intentions to support all the nominees before the committee Thursday. Cassidy had taken issue with Kaufman during his confirmation hearing due to his past comments criticizing the birth dose........

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