If anyone believed there was a moderate bone left in Joe Biden’s body, they got a rude awakening Sunday night. The media’s presumptive president picked such an extremist to lead HHS that even the New York Times called it “a surprise.” Xavier Becerra (D), the current California attorney general, spent 24 years in Congress — building one of the most radical abortion records in public service. Just imaging him in charge of the government’s largest budget is enough to give conservatives nightmares.
Becerra, who succeeded fellow radical Kamala Harris, picked up where she left off in the Left’s ferocious fight against pregnancy resource centers. Representing her outrageous crusade in the Supreme Court in 2018, he argued that pro-life offices should have to advertise for abortion. Fortunately, California’s liberals lost — but the message was clear: Like his predecessor, he doesn’t believe in free speech. He’s in favor of partial-birth abortion, taxpayer-funded abortion, Medicare for All, Obamacare mandates, and Planned Parenthood funding. When the federal government cracked down on California for forcing every health plan to cover abortion, he refused to comply.
In Becerra’s 24 years in Congress, he voted against FRC’s position 127 times. If he’s confirmed, Biden will be declaring war on pro-lifers, nuns, the unborn, medical professionals, taxpayers, and anyone who believes in the First Amendment. Not that this is shocking, considering that Obama’s vice president swore to reinstate the health care mandate that would destroy groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor. “If I am elected I will restore the Obama-Biden policy that existed before the [Supreme Court’s 2014] Hobby Lobby ruling: providing an exemption for houses of worship and an accommodation for nonprofit organizations with religious missions,” Biden said in July. Becerra’s elevation to HHS secretary is the first warning shot that he means it.
The AG has also taken an aggressive shot at undercover journalist David Daleiden, prosecuting him for trying to expose Planned Parenthood’s grisly baby body part business. As Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress pointed out, “Daleiden was the first journalist to be prosecuted under the state’s new law against recording ‘confidential’ conversations, ‘not because of the method of video recording he utilized in his investigation — which is common in investigative journalism in this state,’ but, instead, because his investigation revealed content California officials wished to cover up.”
Becerra would be a disaster for HHS and a menace to every American who cares about life and freedom. If anything, Biden has done the country a favor by announcing his intent. It underscores why the January 5th Senate runoff races are so important. A Republican majority may be the only way to keep Biden’s nominations in check.
Tony Perkins’s Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC Action senior writers.