Senate Dems Try to Confirm Anti-Gun Surgeon General Before Handing Control to GOP

Senate Democrats are “likely” to give anti-gun Surgeon General nominee Vivek Murthy a confirmation vote before they lose control of the Senate at year’s end.

This gives departing Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) an opportunity to poke midterm voters in the eye for supporting pro-gun GOP candidates over Democrats. 

According to Politico, a senior Democrat aide says Murthy “is likely to get a vote before Democrats hand control of the chamber to Republicans in January.” In one way, he has his best chance for confirmation now because Democrat rule changes allowing confirmation by a simple majority are still in place. In another way, his confirmation is a long shot “due to queasiness among Republicans and moderate Democrats about Murthy’s positions on guns.” 

Murthy’s nomination faces heavy opposition from GOP Senators because of his political activism and from the NRA because he believes gun violence should be treated as a public health issue instead of a criminal matter. 

Reid could try to confirm Murthy on December 11. 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.