Senate GOP chairman vows to block HHS nominee

Senate GOP chairman vows to block HHS nominee-thehill: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to block the nomination of a top health official over the Obama administration’s handling of the Planned Parenthood controversy. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he plans to hold up the appointment of Dr. Mary Wakefield as Health and Human Services (HHS) deputy secretary until he receives an adequate response from the department about how it is probing claims against Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue program.