Biden reportedly picks California AG Xavier Becerra for HHS secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, several people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times and NBC News.
Becerra, 62, is a former 12-term congressman who led the House Democratic Caucus. Since being elected as California's first Latino attorney general in 2016, he has filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, challenging policies on gun control, the environment, and civil rights, and suing to protect the Affordable Care Act.
Biden called Becerra on Friday to offer him the position, NBC News reports. If he is confirmed, Becerra will become the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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