A U.S. Senate committee voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Dr. Scott Gottlieb to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 14–9 in favor of Gottlieb, a physician, conservative health policy expert and a deputy FDA commissioner during the George W. Bush administration.

The vote means Gottlieb's nomination will now be voted on by the full Senate, where he is expected to be confirmed.

—Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama.