WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General of the United States:

“The Surgeon General is known as America’s doctor and the men and women chosen to fill that role in the past have usually been highly qualified individuals with substantial experience in patient care. Unfortunately, Dr. Murthy’s nomination had more to do with politics – he was a founder in 2008 of a group called Doctors for Obama, and has been an outspoken political advocate of Obamacare and gun control – than his medical experience. With America facing the challenge of Ebola and other serious health challenges, it’s unfortunate that the President chose a nominee based on the candidate’s political support instead of a long career delivering patient care and managing difficult health crises.”