Meet The Newest Surgeon General
The Obama administration added a new member to the White House team on December 15. Dr. Vivek Murthy became the 19th Surgeon General (SG) of the United States.
Murthy, 37, is a physician based at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and serves as an instructor at Harvard Medical School. He’s the first SG of Indian descent as well as the youngest doctor to take this role, according to ABC.
President Obama nominated Dr. Murthy for SG in November 2013 but his selection for the office turned out to be controversial, resulting in a 10-month delay for confirmation.
The Washington Post reported that the Commander in Chief’s choice faced opposition on two fronts.
Senators from both parties wondered if Murthy might be too inexperienced for the job and that his support for the president’s election campaign and healthcare law could make him a polarizing figure. “Doctors for Obama,” a collective of medical professionals co-founded by Dr. Murthy supported the former senator’s run for office in 2008. A few years later, it became Doctors for America (DFA), which endorsed the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
However, the most vocal critic of Dr. Murthy was the National Rifle Association (NRA).
In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, Murthy and his fellow DFA members wrote a letter to Congress advocating for better gun safety reforms. His letter explained that medical professionals had to speak out because of how gun violence impacts public health and safety protocols.
A report in The New York Times indicated that the doctor specifically supported the ban of certain weapon and ammunition sales and called for potentially imposing a longer waiting period for the sale of firearms.
Essentially, Murthy’s opinions drew the ire of the NRA. The Times article reported that the association “would include the vote… [for Dr. Murthy]… in its calculation to determine how senators fare on its annual scorecard, an attempt to dissuade lawmakers from voting yes.”
Murthy was called in for a Senate hearing on Monday, December 15, to ease these tensions and hopefully end the 10-month delay. He had to dispel the notion that the president’s nomination wasn’t a political favor, along with assuring lawmakers that he wouldn’t use the position as a platform for pushing his gun control beliefs.
His answers worked because the Senate passed the nomination with a vote 51-to-43 making the doctor’s confirmation official.
The White House released a statement applauding the Senate’s decision, which read in part:
“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. Vivek will also help us build on the progress we’ve made combatting Ebola, both in our country and at its source. Combined with the crucial support for fighting Ebola included in the bill to fund our government next year, Vivek’s confirmation makes us better positioned to save lives around the world and protect the American people here at home.”
