Update: As expected, the US senate tonight confirmed Vivek Murthy as the next US Surgeon General.
The vote comes after a year long delay following pressure from the National Rifle Association who object to Murthy’s stance on gun control.
Murthy will become the first Indian American and youngest surgeon general ever.
The 37-year old Murthy was originally nominated by President Obama in November of last year. Despite backing from 100 medical organizations, the NRA succeeded in stalling the vote with an intense lobbying effort.
Ironically the midterm election which overturned the Democratic majority in the Senate made tonight’s confirmation vote possible. Many senators who will be leaving office were free to vote their conscious.
Murthy is a graduate of Yale and also part of two AIDS education groups, Visions Worldwide and Trials Network.
