(10-2-17) Senator Bill Cassidy (La.) and Representative Tim Murphy (Pa.) are among the names of candidates being floated around for replacing Health and Human Secretary Thomas Price, who resigned Friday amid criticism that he used private jets at taxpayers’ expense when less expensive public transportation was available.
Both Republicans played key roles in getting the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act signed into law last year during the waning days of the Obama administration.
Dr. Cassidy, a LSU medical school graduate who specialized in liver diseases, partnered with Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) in an unsuccessfully attempt to push through the Republicans most recent effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He gained national recognition after he told late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that any replacement to Obamacare would have to pass the “Kimmel test.” The talk show host later criticized Cassidy for supporting the Graham-Cassidy health care bill that was strongly opposed by the medical community, especially mental health groups, but was backed by President Donald Trump and the White House, admittedly tepidly.