A legislative committee voted 10-2 Monday to support Gov. Janet Mills’ pick to lead the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Sara Gagne-Holmes is currently a deputy commissioner at the department, which employs 3,500 people and provides services to one-third of the state’s population.

With a $3.5 billion budget, it’s the largest state agency. It oversees aging and disability services, behavioral health, child and family services, the health insurance marketplace, Medicaid, welfare programs, licensing and certification, disease control and prevention and two state run psychiatric hospitals.

Gagne-Holmes told the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee she brings different skills to the job than former Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew, who had experience at the federal level.

“I have a legal background, but I have focused on health care policy and public service, public benefits for decades,” she said. “I think I bring with me a perspective that former Commissioner Lambrew didn’t have.”

The committee recommendation now heads to the Maine Senate, which will vote on the nomination in the coming weeks. At the committee level, Gagne-Holmes got support from seven Democrats and three Republicans.

The two Republican lawmakers who voted against her — Rep. Michael Lemelin of Chelsea and Rep. Ann Fredericks of Sanford — asked her why she hadn’t already implemented improvements during her five years as deputy commissioner.

“My concern is complacency and good old boy club,” Lemelin said, adding that he questioned whether Gagne-Holmes would fire staff who underperform.

Gagne-Holmes said she understood Lemelin’s frustration with the pace of change. But she defended top level staff at DHHS, saying that they are working to implement programs to address problems in the child behavioral health system and in other areas.

“I have never been part of the old boy network and I don’t think I ever could be,” she said. “I am committed to change. I have spent nearly my entire professional life working on improving outcomes for Maine people.”

Others pointed out that there is only a little over two years left in the Mills’ administration, so it would not have made sense to recruit talent from out of state who do not understand Maine.

Gordon Smith, director of opioid response for the state, said serving as commissioner of DHHS is a difficult job that covers a wide array of social services.

“She’s got the experience and the temperament and emotional intelligence to run this really large department,” he said.

In recent years, the department has come under fire for its Office of Child and Family Services division following the high-profile deaths of young children who had received services from the department.

In November, the head of the office, Todd Landry, resigned from the post following increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and others.

Just last week, the Department of Justice sued the state for what it called “unnecessarily segregating children with behavioral health disabilities in hospitals, residential facilities and state-operated juvenile detention” facilities.

Delays in the court system have led to more children in state custody and the department is working to build new programs to help more children, Gagne-Holmes said.

“We must do more to ensure our children are safe and that our family, friends and neighbors have timely access to critical services which help them to live with health, independence and dignity,” she said.

She also said the department’s employees need more support.

Gagne-Holmes grew up in Sanford and is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Maine School of Law. She served as a law clerk with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, practiced law at a Maine firm and worked as a health policy and legal advisor for Gov. John Baldacci.

Mills nominated Gagne-Holmes of Readfield to the top spot following the departure of Lambrew in May. Lambrew left to join a Washington D.C. think tank and to teach at Harvard.

Ann Woloson, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said Gagne-Holmes’ legal background and experience make her a strong candidate for the job.

“Most importantly, Ms. Gagne-Holmes is a decent human being,” she said. “She’s approachable and someone who can be trusted to be proactive when necessary.”