FRC urges US Senate to Reject Radical HHS Nominee Xavier Becerra

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a nomination hearing for Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Today, the Senate Finance Committee will hold its nomination hearing.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:

"The Department of Health and Human Services has the largest budget of any federal agencies, overseeing twenty-seven different National Institutes and Centers of Health. Xavier Becerra, President Biden's nominee to head the mammoth health-focused agency has zero health care experience. Mr. Becerra is an attorney that has amassed an extensive record of hostility toward religious freedom and appears to be fixated on promoting extreme pro-abortion policies. This was evident in his testimony yesterday before the Senate committee, in which he refused to explain his past support for the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion.

"As Attorney General of California, he specialized in singling out private individuals and faith-based organizations for special harassment, aggressively prosecuting them without cause, and miring them in lawsuits even after he was rebuked by the Supreme Court.

"Becerra would be a disaster for HHS and a menace to every American who cares about protecting human life and freedom. A leftwing culture warrior is the wrong person to lead the country's public health response out of the pandemic. The great power and reach of HHS will be placed in the hands of the most extreme pro-abortion zealot ever to lead it, should Xavier Becerra be confirmed by the Senate. The Senate must reject Becerra's nomination," concluded Perkins.

Connor Semelsberger, Director of Federal Affairs for Life and Human Dignity at Family Research Council, added:

"Xavier Becerra's abortion record is clear. When Senators on the Senate HELP Committee pressed him on his vote to oppose a federal ban on the barbaric practice of partial birth abortions, a pro-life policy President Biden supported in the Senate, he simply dodged the question.

"After committing to following the law when asked about whether he would direct federal funds to pay for abortions, he later admitted to using his role as the Attorney General of California to join forces with other states and press federal courts to upend existing laws regulating chemical abortion. The message that Becerra will work across the aisle to build an appropriate response to the coronavirus pandemic is simply a smokescreen for his endgame of radically expanding abortion through one of the federal government's largest agencies," concluded Semelsberger.

SOURCE Family Research Council