Becerra among new candidates for Biden’s health secretary



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Five sources close to the talks confirmed that Biden was considering Becerra, who gained national attention for leading the legal battle against the policies of the Trump administration. CNN first reported that Becerra was under investigation.

A source close to the talks also confirmed that Burwell and Granholm are now part of the mix. It’s still unclear who Biden might prefer – or whether any of the three would take the job if offered. Biden’s transition declined to comment.

The transition deliberations come amid great uncertainty over who will take on the role of HHS secretary that promises to be among the most important jobs in the new administration. The prolonged search also baffled Democrats who were hoping Biden – who campaigned as the steadfast hand needed to end the pandemic – would have his health care team ready to leave soon after the election. The transition was intended to announce a new HHS secretary early next week.

Biden officials have sought a candidate with extensive managerial experience, well prepared to guide the health department through the pandemic – but who has also already earned the trust of the president-elect.

A former lead candidate for the post, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, will instead return to his former role while also serving as a key public face of the Covid-19 response. Lujan Grisham, transition co-chair Biden, lost his support after turning down an offer as Home Secretary – and being seen as trying to orchestrate his appointment as HHS chief, people close to him said folder. Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, withdrew from the race Thursday, a day after POLITICO announced she had become the favorite.

These developments prompted the Biden team to fight for the list of new candidates.

Becerra, who has led a series of legal challenges to the Trump administration’s health policies – as well as defending the Blue States against a lawsuit to eliminate Obamacare – is a rising star in California Democratic politics. The 62-year-old has also been appointed attorney general for the Biden administration or replacing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the Senate.

Becerra also led an antitrust fight against the powerful Sutter Health of the Bay Area – obtaining $ 575 million from the health care system to settle complaints about anti-competitive practices that have skyrocketed health care costs for Californians. North.

“It’s in her wheelhouse,” former Becerra assistant Amanda Renteria, now CEO of Code for America, said of the HHS position. “He’s an elected official who cares about the way things are run and the ability to lead and understand him.

Yet Becerra does not have the direct practical experience of dealing with the current pandemic that Lujan Grisham and Raimondo had – experience that had polished their credentials to leading a national response to the pandemic.

With Granholm or Burwell, the Biden team would continue to seek candidates with close ties to the Obama administration. Granholm was part of Obama’s transition team in 2008, and had been hired for a ministerial role in his administration. Obama subsequently shortlisted her for a place on the Supreme Court.

As governor of Michigan, Granholm made a stint as chairman of the National Governors Association’s health and human services committee.

Burwell, now president of the American University, headed Obama’s Office of Management and Budget before being appointed secretary of the HHS for the last two years of his presidency. As the head of the HHS, she worked on the Ebola response alongside Biden’s new chief of staff Ron Klain and managed the administration’s subsequent efforts on the Zika virus.

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