President-elect Joe Biden California Attorney General Xavier Besera is being appointed to serve as its first secretary of health and human services, his transition team said in a press release early Monday morning. Supervise the scattered department to play a leading role in the distribution of A. COVID-19 The vaccine, and he will be tasked with helping build public confidence in it.
Mr. Biden’s other choices for key health roles were also announced, including Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General, Rochelle Valensky, Dr. Mar., as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -19 Co-Chair of the Equity Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fawcett will be COVID-19’s chief medical adviser, J.V. Zints will be the President and Coordinator of COVID-19 Response, and Natalie Quillian will be the Deputy Coordinator of COVID. -19 response.
Besera, 62, has been serving as California’s top prosecutor since 2017, when he succeeded the role of now-vice-president-elect Kamala Harris. He served in Congress for more than 20 years and was at one time seen as a potential House Speaker.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bessara will be the first Latino to play the role – a symbolic nomination at a time when Latino is unusually affected by the medical and economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic.
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The Hispanic Caucus of Congress, who was once president of Besara, said late Sunday night that his nomination was “welcome news” in the “moment of crisis” as the Latinos are moving away from the epidemic. The group added that it was “encouraging President-elect Biden to appoint five Latinos to the cabinet, including Latinos in leading positions. We will continue to work in partnership with the Biden-Harris transition team to bring together the most diverse administrations in American history.” . ”
“We need Latinos in this role,” a Besara colleague told CBS News. The man, who was given a secret name because he was not allowed to speak publicly on the matter, said Besera had been asked to serve by Mr Biden in recent days.
The man also said that Besera’s ability to speak Spanish helps explain and defend vaccination programs in some parts of the Litino community that speak Spanish in a way that primarily other public officials cannot.
Besera is also said to be under consideration for making Harris a success in the Senate or to serve as Mr Biden’s first attorney general.
While he has no medical training or public health experience, he has served as a top defender of the Affordable Care Act. While in Congress, he was a leading advocate for passing legislation, and as California’s attorney general, he defended the law in federal court, including in recent weeks. U.S. Supreme Court.
Besera’s nomination also means that Mr. Biden has appointed two Latinos to address his team’s “Big Six” cabinet meetings – state, defense, justice, treasury, homeland security and health and human services.
Valensky, the president’s choice to lead the CDC, is currently the head of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in AIDS and HIV and is the head of the Atlanta-based agency. Will take care of Redfield who has significantly reduced his public role during the coronavirus epidemic, questioning his independence from political interference. The status does not require Senate confirmation.
The President-elect has nominated Alejandro Mayorcas, A Cuban-American, to serve as the first Latino Secretary of Homeland Security. Janet Yellen Mr. Biden is a Treasury nominee and will be the first woman to play this role. Anthony Blinkon has been nominated as Secretary of State. Other positions remain incomplete.
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