U.S. President-elect Joe Biden confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as his pick for secretary of health and human services.
He also confirmed other nominees that will accelerate his administration’s response to the raging coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, also chose Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Biden formally tapped Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as his chief medical adviser on the virus.
Biden, who has already announced top nominees for his national security and economic teams, told reporters he expected to name his defense secretary on Friday and his nominee for attorney general sometime this week.
Jeff Zients, an economic adviser here known for his managerial skills, was named coronavirus “czar” to oversee the response that will soon include an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies.
“This team of world-class medical experts and public servants will be ready on Day One to mobilize every resource of the federal government to expand testing and masking,” Biden said in a statement.
He added that they would “oversee the safe, equitable, and free distribution of treatments and vaccines.”
More than 282,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to a Reuters tally.
Biden’s choice of Becerra, 62, a Latino former congressman, adds a politician to a health effort that otherwise largely relies on government administrators and health experts.
The choice also comes as Biden faces pressure to ensure diversity in his Cabinet appointments, including complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the number of Latinos.
During his time in Congress, Becerra played a role in passing the Affordable Care Act, Democratic President Barack Obama’s main domestic policy achievement.
In his current role in California, he leads a coalition of 20 states defending the program better known as Obamacare against Republican attacks, including in a case before the Supreme Court last month.
Physician Vivek Murthy will return for a second term as surgeon general.
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, will lead a group to deal with addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Latino Americans.
