President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Xavier Becerra, California's attorney general, as his nominee for HHS secretary, according to a news release from the transition office and first reported by The New York Times.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Becerra will be the first Latino to head the health department, which is a $1 trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees.
Mr. Becerra's work as the top lawyer in California includes leading the defense of the ACA in the Supreme Court on behalf of 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Prior to becoming California's attorney general, Mr. Becerra served 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Separately on Monday, President-elect Biden selected Rochelle Walensky, MD, the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as the new director of the CDC.