Sen. Pat Toomey will oppose Rachel Levine's nomination over 'poor decisions' involving Penn nursing homes

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced on Wednesday that he will oppose Dr. Rachel Levine's bid to become the Assistant Secretary of Health, CBS Pittsburgh reports.

"In Pennsylvania, the pandemic struck seniors in nursing homes disproportionately hard compared to other states. This was due in part to poor decisions and oversight by Dr. Levine and the Wolf administration," Toomey argued.

Levine is the former Secretary of Health for the state of Pennsylvania, the same state represented by Senator Toomey. She resigned from her position after being nominated by President Joe Biden to serve in the Department of Health and Human Services.

"While I appreciate Dr. Levine’s service and responsiveness to my office over the past year, she has not earned a promotion to help lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and I cannot support her confirmation," he continued.

The Senator's stated opinions conflict with those of the Biden administration, which picked Levine in part due to her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Pennsylvania.

Toomey also criticized lockdown measures imposed in Pennsylvania, referring to them as both "excessive" and "arbitrary."

Levine's nomination is set to be voted on in the Senate later this week. If she gets the nomination, she would be the first transgender person to be confirmed for a federal position by the Senate.