The Surgeon General vote was surprisingly controversial recently. I was wondering how precedented this is. Have there been controversial nominees or close votes previously? I kinda thought this was something of a rubber stamp position.
Not looking for debate, just information! Can’t seem to google it up!
See: Joycelyn Elders.
Also there was controversy over C. Everett Coop but the vote wasn’t that close. Republicans had control at the time. He may have been the first controversial appointment. Mostly due to his moral stance on abortion. His qualifications as a doctor were above reproach.
ETA: by “moral stance” I am not making a value judgement. He made it clear later that his stance against abortion was a moral choice and not a medical stance. Which put him at odds with his own administration. But he is now mostly known for his strong anti-smoking agenda.
Jocelyn Elders, Clinton’s choice for SG, had a lot of conservative opposition, and her hearings took something like four months before she was finally confirmed.
C. Everett Koop, Reagan’s choice, got a firestorm of oppostion from liberals.
It’s interesting that for long periods of time, the Surgeon General’s post was filled by interim appointments. Paul Ehrlich was an interim appointment at the beginning of Richard Nixon’s second term, served through the entire Ford administration and six months into the Carter administration before finally being replaced by a permanent appointee.