The Senate Finance Committee evenly split along party lines on whether to approve the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
But Becerra’s nomination will still head to the Senate floor, where he could face a narrow confirmation vote.
The split committee vote on Wednesday where all Democrats voted for and all Republicans on the panel against comes after the committee held a heated confirmation hearing last week where Republications took umbrage with Becerra’s stances on abortion and several other issues.
Some senators also questioned his qualifications to lead the agency. Becerra was a member of the House before leaving to become California’s attorney general in 2017.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., was concerned about Becerra’s lack of substance on a question about the statutory definition of the 340B program.
“Becerra displayed no familiarity,” he said.
But Democrats on the panel defended Becerra and unanimously supported him.
Becerra is still likely to get confirmed as Democrats can break a 50-50 tie with Vice President Kamala Harris.