He’s back.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moved on Saturday toward a vote on the nomination of Vivek Murthy to be the next U.S. surgeon general.
President Barack Obama’s nominee for the job was stymied earlier this year by opposition from the National Rifle Association. The influential group attacked his past remarks that gun violence was a public health issue, mobilizing its members against him.
The gun lobby’s objections scared away numerous Democrats early this year, Democratic sources said at the time, effectively stalling the nomination. But now that the election is over, many of those Democrats no longer have to worry about crossing the NRA. Democratic leaders hope to confirm Murthy before Republicans take over the Senate next month.
They’ll need just 51 votes to ensure his confirmation. Democrats have 55 caucusing members until the next Congress convenes in January 2015.
The Senate has not confirmed a surgeon general since the position was vacated in July 2013.
The Democrats plan to move toward a vote on the Murthy nomination while the Senate burns time ahead of a vote on the spending bill to avert a government shutdown.
