The U.S. Senate confirmed Tom Price, a congressman and physician, to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a post where he'll have a leading role in Republican efforts to dismantle Obamacare and implement its replacement, and oversee a budget of more than $1 trillion.

The vote was 52-47, making Price the most contentious nominee for the position since at least President Jimmy Carter's administration. Democrats opposed him because of his free-market, limited-government views on how the American health-care system should operate, and his past efforts to privatize Medicare by turning it into a voucher system. They also strongly criticized him for leaving questions unanswered about stock purchases in medical companies he made while handling health-care legislation.

"President Trump is setting up his cabinet to run our country in a way that benefits those at the top and their allies, but really hurts the workers and families we all serve." Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, said on the Senate floor during Thursday's debate on Price. "It's hard to imagine who in America would be better off under Congressman Price's leadership at HHS."