Aamer Madhani and Liz Szabo

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- The influential New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday lashed out against the powerful National Rifle Association for its push to derail President Obama's pick to become the next surgeon general.

In an editorial written by four of the Journal's editors, the authors question the NRA for flexing its "political muscle" over the nomination of Vivek Murthy, who as the founder of Doctors for America advocated for tougher gun laws.

"The critical question is this: Should a special-interest organization like the NRA have veto power over the appointment of the nation's top doctor? The very idea is unacceptable," wrote editors Gregory Curfman, Stephen Morrissey, Debra Malina, and Jeffrey Drazen.

Murthy, 36, was approved in a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee vote last month with the support of all Democrats and one Republican. And he has received the endorsements of several prominent groups and individuals in the health and wellness community.

But the White House announced last week that it was rethinking its strategy around Murthy's floor vote before the full Senate. T

The decision by the White House to slow down the push came amid reports that as many as 10 Democratic senators would vote against Murthy after the NRA publicly raised questions about Murthy's past advocacy for tighter gun laws.

The White House publicly won't say that the decision to slow the push for Murthy is directly connected to the NRA's lobbying against Murthy. Instead, aides note that Obama also is coming off a bruising defeat in the Democratic-controlled Senate earlier this month when his nominee for a key Justice Department position was blocked because of objections to the role he played in the defense of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.

"After the confirmation vote of Debo Adegbile, we are recalibrating the strategy around Dr. Murthy's floor vote," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

The NRA last month raised concerns to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about Murthy's call for mandatory licensing for anyone purchasing a firearm or ammunition and a federal ban on assault weapons.

The NRA's lobbyist, Chris Cox, also took exception to Murthy, calling for Congress to remove restrictions barring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from funding "anti-gun advocacy research" as well as removing restrictions in Obama's health care law that prohibits health officials from data collection on gun violence.

But the Journal editors noted that the NRA opposition persists "even though Murthy made it clear in his testimony before the Senate HELP Committee that if he is confirmed, his principal focus will be on the important national problem of obesity prevention, not firearm policy."

"The NRA opposes Murthy solely on the grounds that he has advocated reasonable and mainstream forms of gun regulation, including an assault-weapons ban, a limit on ammunition sales, and required safety training," the Journal said in its editorial. "Given that there are more than 30,000 firearm deaths in the United States each year, Murthy's views on potential safeguards are unsurprising."

Carney stressed earlier this week that Obama is not giving up on getting Murthy confirmed.

"We expect him to get confirmed ultimately and be one of the country's most powerful messengers on health and wellness," Carney said.