President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, lied before Senate lawmakers Wednesday, claiming he had never sued nuns.
“I have never sued the nuns, any nuns,” Becerra testified before the Senate Finance Committee. “I’ve never sued any affiliation of nuns, and my actions have always been directed at the federal agencies.”
Becerra: "By the way, I have never sued any nuns." pic.twitter.com/qYyhg1osvG
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 24, 2021
As California attorney general, however, Becerra weaponized the full power of the administrative state to sue the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order of nuns who run homes for the elderly poor, to mandate compliance with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate.
The case, State of California v. Little Sisters of the Poor, made it to the Ninth Circuit in 2017. The Supreme Court sided with the nuns in a similar case in 2017, according to Fox News.
In 2017, Becerra railed against the Trump administration’s effort to exempt nuns from Obamacare’s anti-religious freedom mandate.
“Donald Trump wants businesses and corporations to control family planning decisions rather than a woman in consultation with her doctor. These anti-women’s health regulations prove once again that the Trump Administration is willing to trample on people’s rights,” Becerra said. “What group of Americans will they target next? Will they allow businesses to deny you cancer treatment? Will they exclude you from insurance coverage because of a pre-existing health condition? The California Department of Justice will fight to protect every woman’s right to healthcare, including reproductive healthcare.”
Of Biden’s Cabinet nominations considered since Democrats wrapped up their second impeachment, which targeted a private citizen, Becerra’s has been one to watch. On Tuesday, Becerra dodged questions on partial-birth abortion before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
.@SenatorRomney: "You voted against a ban on partial birth abortion. Why?"
Becerra: "I understand that people have different deeply held beliefs on this issue….We may not always agree on where to go, but I think we can find some common ground." pic.twitter.com/kGgGv33xCo
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 23, 2021
Becerra’s week of testimony launched as 60 pro-life leaders urged senators to reject him for the nation’s chief public health role, citing Becerra’s extremism as a pro-abortion advocate.
Becerra’s radicalism has been highlighted elsewhere, including on immigration, where he has advocated for government takeover of health care along with U.S. tax dollars paying for the health care of illegal foreign workers.
