A job that has been vacant since July 2013 was filled today by the U.S. Senate.

In a 51-43 vote, Dr. Vivek Murthy on Monday was confirmed as the next surgeon general of the United States.

Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz voted in the narrow majority. The vote fell heavily along party lines.

President Barack Obama’s nomination had been opposed by the National Rifle Association, which “was unhappy with the choice of Murthy, citing tweets he had written criticizing both guns and the NRA,” according to NPR, which reported that Murthy “has said he plans to target obesity, not guns, if he were to be confirmed.”

The U.S. Capitol.

Adrienne LaFrance/Civil Beat

Murthy, according to The Hill, had previously declared support for policies such as background checks and ammunition limits and accused members of Congress of “playing politics” with guns because they were “scared of the NRA.”

Helping Murthy’s confirmation as the nation’s top doctor was, unexpectedly, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, “whose last-minute unsuccessful gambit to stop President Obama’s executive actions on immigration gave outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a parliamentary opening to push through a bunch of stalled nominations, including Murthy’s,” says NPR.

Cruz voted against Murthy’s confirmation, as did most Republicans.