A Florida state Senate committee recommended to confirm Dr. Joseph Ladapo as state surgeon general along partisan lines when Democrats on the committee walked out in protest during the hearing.
Ladapo frustrated Democratic senators when avoiding the answers to questions regarding his background and qualifications, the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, and his refusal to wear a mask before meeting with a state Senator who was battling breast cancer.
With the Senate Democrats representing four of 10 on the panel, the Republicans moved for recommending Ladapo’s nomination forward to the next panel, an Ethics and Elections Committee, before a full Senate floor vote. Republicans outnumber the Democrats in the Senate chamber and are expected to ultimately confirm the nomination.