email article WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted 55-44 Tuesday to confirm Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Nominations for a position like CMS administrator are not usually controversial, but these are unusual times. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) explained on the Senate floor Monday that he would vote against Brooks-LaSure not because she wasn't qualified, but because "the Biden administration has taken the unprecedented step of rescinding an agreement with my state and the previous administration to maintain the stability of our state's Medicaid program." Cornyn acknowledged that Brooks-LaSure, who will be the first Black woman to head the agency, had nothing to do with the Texas waiver rescission, "but before her nomination could advance, members of the Senate deserve a commitment from the administration that it won't try to force the hand of other states, including Texas, by putting the healthcare of millions of vulnerable citizens on the line. If we don't stand up now and push back on this reckless move, who will be next?"