Health Secretary Nominee Tom Price Grilled by Tammy Baldwin, Elizabeth Warren

Tom Price, the anti-LGBT, antichoice congressman nominated by Donald Trump to be secretary of Health and Human Services, faced tough questioning from senators today on the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act and on his investments in companies that would benefit from legislation he championed.

Price's deeply anti-LGBT record didn't come up in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, but out Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin grilled him on how he'd assure that all Americans have access to health care if the ACA is repealed. Price, a Republican House member from Georgia, has been one of the chief proponents of repealing the law, also known as Obamacare, which has been greatly beneficial to LGBT people and many others.

Baldwin, a Democrat, pointed out that the ACA benefits more than just the people who obtain their health insurance through its marketplaces, which Price had characterized as a small segment of the population. "The protections, like coverage on your parents' health insurance till you're 26, mandating that people be covered even if they have a preexisting health condition, things like eliminating caps [on costs covered over a patient's lifetime] that led so many people into medical bankruptcy -- those apply across the health care system," she said. "So repeal in no way limits us to a conversation just about a small percentage of our population. This is about serious impacts for all of America."

After being pressed by Baldwin about whether he would support keeping these and other mandates, Price said, "What I'm absolutely committed to is making sure that every single American has access to the kind of coverage that they want and has the financial feasibility to be able to purchase that coverage." That is an issue for Congress to decide, not the HHS secretary, but Price said he would work with Congress on the "repeal and replace" process if he is confirmed as secretary.

Price also fielded pointed questions from other Democratic senators, including Patty Murray of Washington and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, about possible conflicts of interest. Murray asked about the fact that he bought stock in Innate Immunotherapeutics, a biotech company, while voting on the 21st Century Cures Act, which could affect the company.

"Do you believe it is appropriate for a senior member of Congress, actively involved in policymaking in the health sector, to repeatedly personally invest in a drug company that could benefit from those actions?" Murray asked, according to CNN. He said, "That's not what happened," and when pressed by Murray about whether he received a tip from another congressman regarding the stock, Price said he did his own research on the company and received no nonpublic information.

Murray was not satisfied. "I believe it's inappropriate," she said. "And we need answers to this." Democrats are seeking an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics on Price's conduct in this matter.

Another controversial investment by Price was in Zimmer Biomet, a maker of knee and hip replacement devices. He bought stock in it last year, then introduced a bill that would delay the effective date of a regulation reducing payments on such devices, then received a campaign donation from the company's political action committee, CNN reported Monday. The bill has not passed.

When Warren confronted Price on this series of events, he said the decision to buy the stock was made by his broker, without his knowledge. Warren countered, "This is someone who buys stock at your direction. This is someone who buys and sells the stock you want them to buy and sell." She said Price continued to push the legislation after he was informed of the stock purchase; he said he was offended by the insinuation that he would use his position in Congress for financial benefit.

Price will have a second confirmation hearing Thursday, before the Senate Finance Committee. Watch his questioning by Baldwin and Warren below.