The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra as health secretary, thanks to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) crossing the aisle and voting with Democrats. The 50-49 vote would have gone the other way if Collins had switched sides. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) missed the vote. Apart from Collins, every senator voted along party lines. The Maine senator announced last week her intention to vote for Becerra. “Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS Secretary. I look forward to working with the Department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people,” she said in a statement. HHS stands for Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans for weeks had said they opposed approving Becerra, arguing he wasn’t qualified. “Mr. Becerra’s lack of healthcare experience, enthusiasm for replacing private health insurance with government-run Medicare-for-all, and embrace of radical policies …