Tim Kaine apologizes to ex-CDC director: 'I was wrong'
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) apologized to ousted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez for questioning her “backbone” during her confirmation hearing in June.
“You got over the qualifications bar easily, but my worries about the direction of HHS [Health and Human Services] made me question you very significantly on your backbone, a trait that is not in long supply in this town. And then when I voted against your confirmation, I cited that as the reason,” Kaine said during a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
“Again, no concern about your qualifications. I had concern about your backbone, and I was wrong, and I apologize to you for being wrong,” he added.
Back in June, Kaine questioned Monarez over the closure of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and the firing of its 120 full-time employees, and for “dramatic changes” that “gutted” the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of tobacco.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tim-kaine-apologizes-ex-cdc-195450481.html