Senate Finance Committee Advances Chris Klomp's HHS Deputy Secretary Nomination

On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee gave a 15-12 vote to advance Chris Klomp's nomination as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, sending it to the full Senate for confirmation. Klomp, who currently serves as senior adviser to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has previously brokered drug-pricing deals, overseen key hires, and acted as a liaison between HHS and the White House. In recent hearings before the Finance and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees, lawmakers probed the extent of his authority and asked how he would address vaccine-policy disputes.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy urged Klomp to challenge the department's approach to vaccines and to clarify the CDC's handling of measles-related death reports in Pennsylvania. The committee also moved forward Ge Bai's nomination for HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. Klomp's background includes leading the Medicare program under the Trump administration and serving as CEO of health-IT firm Collective Medical.