Romero gets plenty of criticism but also an up vote from Senate rules committee
April 8, 20211:19 pm
Members of the Arkansas Senate rules committee consider the appointment of José Romero, director of the Arkansas Department of Health.
Arkansas state senators tore into Health Department Director
Dr. José Romero Thursday at a meeting at which Romero was not present. The 10 senators present for the meeting ultimately voted 7-3 to forward Romero’s confirmation to the the full Senate for consideration today.
Republican senators
Trent Garner and
Gary Stubblefield lobbied hard against confirming Romero’s appointment to the directorship of the Arkansas Department of Health, a post to which Romero was appointed by Governor Hutchinson months ago. The trio of senators opposed to his appointment said they were dissatisfied with the way Romero handled the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Romero discouraged its use, but Rapert and Stubblefield said the drug might have saved lives. And Garner criticized the rollout of COVID vaccines under Romero’s leadership. Rapert said he believed some Arkansans who died of COVID might still be alive had Romero endorsed the drug’s use despite National Institutes of Health recommendations.