Biden taps California attorney general for top health role in surprise pick

Xaiver Becerra frequently battled with the Trump administration as California’s attorney general

Representative Xavier Becerra responds to a lawmaker’s question during during his confirmation hearing before the Assembly Special Committee on the Office of the Attorney General in Sacramento, California (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

The Biden administration has picked Xavier Becerra, a former Democratic congressman and California’s current attorney general, to lead the department of health and human services (HHS), The New York Times reported. It is one of the key roles in the incoming cabinet as the coronavirus continues to devastate the country. 

The pick is something of a surprise choice as well, as Mr Becerra has built a larger national reputation for working on criminal justice and immigration issues in his previous roles.

Still, he’s no stranger to health policy. He leads a group of more than 20 states in a lawsuit to defend the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, against the federal government and Republican attorneys general who seek to dismantle it. (The case is now before the Supreme Court.)

HHS is the part of the federal government that administers national health programmes like Medicare, for elderly Americans, and Medicaid, which covers low-income people. Mr Becerra has been an outspoken supporter of Medicare for All, one of 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ signature policies. 

“I've been a supporter of Medicare for All for the 24 years that I was in Congress,” he told Fox News in 2017. “Absolutely, when you give people access to Medicare and talk to seniors who have their Medicare, who say keep your hands off my Medicare, I think it would have the same effect for most Americans if they knew they could depend on something like Medicare for themselves as well.” 

Mr Biden stopped short of approving Medicare for All on the campaign trail, although has called for making a public insurance option available to those Americans who want it. His latest pick would be a key figure in implementing that policy if it came to pass. 

Mr Becerra, 62, is an experienced Washington hand, having served 12 terms in Congress, where he focused on issues like overhauling the immigration system and passing Obamacare.  The California attorney general was a strong advocate for Latinos in Congress, and his personal background, as the son of working class parents including one immigrant from Mexico, could prove valuable in combatting the pandemic, which has hit poor people and people of color especially severely. 

Lawmakers in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and activist groups have spent days urging the incoming administration to appoint a more diverse cabinet, with more Latinos in top positions. Prior to the HHS announcement, the only other Latino in a major role in Mr Biden’s proposed cabinet was Alejandro Mayorkas. He has been tapped to lead the homeland security department, where he was previously deputy secretary.

Before Sunday’s announcement, Mr Becerra was rumored to be a pick for the Biden administration’s attorney general, or to fill the vacant senate seat of vice president-elect Kamala Harris, who was Becerra’s predecessor as California attorney general.