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Lujan Grisham, who currently co-chairs Biden’s transition team, had been one of the main contenders for the post of HHS secretary, but had also turned down an offer in recent days to head the Home Office, three sources say close to the transition. The offer was made by the staff, not Biden himself, one of the people said.
“It’s a better fit and that’s where his interest and his heart are,” another source close to Lujan Grisham has said of his desire to lead HHS, rather than the interior department. “You can’t fault him for being honest about his true passion.”
But a source close to the transition said the rejection had hurt Lujan Grisham’s candidacy for other government jobs, including HHS secretary. A pair of reports on Wednesday portraying her as the favorite for the post was also unsuitable for people in Biden’s orbit, although there is no evidence that Lujan Grisham herself played a role in those stories.
A spokesperson for Lujan Grisham declined to comment. The transition Biden also did not immediately comment. Biden is expected to announce his choice for HHS secretary early next week.
Another prominent HHS candidate, former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, is expected to join the Biden administration at a high level, said five people familiar with the process. However, his candidacy for the HHS position was marred by concerns about his lack of management experience.
The next HHS secretary, one of Biden’s most important choices, will oversee a massive vaccination effort and help manage the strengthened federal response Biden has promised to the worsening pandemic. The HHS ‘choice will also shape Biden’s plans to build on Obamacare and bolster health insurance for millions of people who lost coverage during the pandemic.
If chosen for the post of HHS secretary, Raimondo would likely face heavy criticism from the left over her previous work in venture capital and opposition to “Medicare for All.” She has also drawn the ire of progressives for trying to cut Rhode Island pension benefits while she was state treasurer before running for governor.
“The best thing that can be said about Gina Raimondo is that she’s not Rahm Emanuel,” said Jeff Hauser, revolving door project director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. end any era of good feeling within the Democratic Party. ”
In a sign of resistance she might face as a cabinet candidate, a Wednesday article in the Daily Poster – a publication run by a former senior adviser to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign – criticized Raimondo for his proposals to further privatize Medicaid in Rhode Island and an executive order protecting nursing homes from liability if residents were injured or died during the pandemic.
Biden’s team has long viewed governors as good candidates for the HHS job, given their experience in managing large bureaucracies. Raimondo, like Lujan Grisham, was among the Democratic governors who acted swiftly to combat the pandemic by placing restrictions on businesses and gatherings in the days following the state’s first confirmed cases.
“Governors are very familiar with health care because it is such a huge chunk of their budget,” a source close to Biden told POLITICO, pointing to former HHS secretaries with governorship experience like Kathleen Sebelius, Mike Leavitt and Tommy Thompson. “They are also generally good managers, good communicators and they have political skills.”
Lujan Grisham echoed the sentiment recently, touting his qualifications for the job in a press conference broadcast live from his home over the weekend. No one on Biden’s transition team had spoken to her “specifically about a job,” she noted.
“I think that health and human services [secretary], which is the Cabinet post I have been identified for by advocates for, testifies that I am one of the only governors in a long time with experience in public health, health care, health care reform. health and long-term care in the country, ”she said. “It’s a precious thing for the Biden team to watch.”
Influential groups such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, UnidosUS and health industry advocates on K Street had also lobbied for Lujan Grisham to be health secretary, as they pressured Biden to be health secretary. deliver on its election promise to select a historically diverse Cabinet. They highlighted his vast experience, which includes running the New Mexico health agency, three terms in the House of Representatives, and leading his state through the pandemic.
Representative Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Who has been discussed as a possible healthcare hire in the new administration, was among dozens of Latino lawmakers who signed a letter urging Biden to choose Lujan Grisham to lead HHS.
“I know she would do a great job,” he told POLITICO. “And having Latina First Secretary HHS during this pandemic would send a very positive message to everyone in our country.”
Choosing Raimondo over Lujan Grisham and Murthy would also exacerbate complaints from lawmakers and lawyers that Biden is breaking his promises to elevate people of color to the highest positions in his new administration.
“They have a chance to nominate a highly skilled and capable Latina to the cabinet and she is the right fit for the role right now,” said the source close to Lujan Grisham. “I would hate to see a huge opportunity missed.”
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