Democrats likely to pose strong opposition to Price nomination
Price's management experience, ability to rally HHS employees called into question, as are past business dealings.
The Trump administration will be seeking confirmation of its picks for various government agencies later this month, but early indicators show that Democrats will make a stand when it comes to Tom Price, Trump's selection to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Reports illustrate Senate Democrats unanimous opposition to Price's nomination, and according to the Weekly Standard, incoming minority leader Chuck Schumer of New York aims to make their voices heard at Price's hearings.
The goal, for Schumer and Senate Democrats, is to convince at least three Republicans to vote against Price, who represents the opposition's best chance at blocking one of Trump's nominations.
[Also: 5 ways Tom Price can quickly alter healthcare policy]
Convincing GOP Senators to shoot down Price may be a long shot, but according to William Pierce, there's a case to be made. Pierce, a senior director at APCO Worldwide and the former deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS from 2001 to 2005, wrote an op-ed for the Morning Consult this week in which he questioned Price's management experience, as well as his ability to rally the thousands of civil servants who work for the department.
Pierce noted that four of the last seven HHS secretaries -- Otis Bowen, Tommy Thompson, Mike Leavitt and Kathleen Sebelius -- have been governors, while two, Donna Shalala and Louis Sullivan, have headed large institutions. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the seventh, had a reputation as a management guru. Pierce said this management experience is necessary; HHS is the largest federal cabinet department, bigger than the Department of Defense with more than $1 trillion in outlays and almost 80,000 employees.
Price, by contrast, managed his medical practice, trained physicians while a professor of medicine, and managed the staffs of his House office and Budget Committees. While his pick makes sense from a political standpoint -- he has been loyal to Trump -- Pierce makes the case that his relatively limited managing experience may become an issue, something Schumer and his cohorts can latch onto in seeking to block his nomination.
[Also: AMA, others expect future HHS head Tom Price to put doctors' interests first]
Democrats have another potential line of attack. Late in December, Senate Democrats seized on a report from the Wall Street Journal that Price traded more than $300,000 in shares of health-related companies over the past four years, while simultaneously pushing legislation that would have positively impacted those businesses' finances. The report highlights potential conflicts of interest that Price may have to address during his confirmation hearing.
If Price is confirmed, Pierce suspects he may have management difficulties regardless of his level of past experience. The career staff at HHS, said Pierce, do not view the Affordable Care Act or Medicare and Medicaid as fiscal problems that require fixing, but rather as programs providing valuable services. Any attempts to alter or curtail those services may be met with internal resistance.
Reports citing the office of The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee say that group is expected is hold a hearing on Price's nomination on Jan. 18, two days before Trump is slated to be sworn in as president. That date, however, is tentative and subject to change.
Twitter: @JELagasse
