Gov. Deal calls for special election following Price confirmation

ATLANTA - Georgia Governor Nathan Deal called for a special election on April 18 to fill the seat for the 6th Congressional District. The announcement came after Tom Price resigned from the seat after being confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Price was confirmed to join President Donald Trump's cabinet early on Friday. Qualifying begins February 13 to fill the seat of the 6th Congressional District.

MORE DETAILS: Tom Price confirmed as Trump's health secretary

“My congratulations to Secretary Tom Price on his confirmation,” said Deal. “I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend and former colleague on behalf of Georgians. This special election will ensure that the residents of the 6th Congressional District have a voice and a vote.”

Republicans won Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump's choice for health secretary early Friday in the testy chamber's fourth consecutive brawl over Cabinet picks.

Senators approved Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to head the Health and Human Services Department by a strictly party-line 52-47 vote in the dead of night. A debate that Democrats prolonged until nearly 2 a.m. EST Friday was dotted with bitter accusations, reflecting the raw feelings enveloping Washington early in Trump's presidency.

Republicans see Price, an orthopedic surgeon and seven-term House veteran, as a knowledgeable leader who will help scuttle Obama's health care overhaul, partly by issuing regulations weakening the law. Democrats describe an ideologue with a shady history of trading health care stocks and whose policies will snatch insurance coverage from Americans.