Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, is to be the next head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said Becerra was president-elect Joe Biden's first choice for the position and his appointment might be announced soon.
Becerra will play a big role in the country's continued response to the pandemic. Despite previous expectations of the pandemic lasting a few months only, the crisis has continued. The illness is killing more than 2,000 people a day.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus continues to demand more Hispanics in Biden's cabinet. During his campaign, Biden said he wanted more diversity in the government and he promised his administration would be more inclusive.
Becerra served 12 terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the first Hispanic American attorney general in California. If appointed, the 62-year-old will become the first Hispanic American to head the health department.
As the head of the HSS, Becerra will be in charge of overseeing the operations of the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
When he replaces current HSS Secretary Alex Azar, Becerra will be involved in the distribution of vaccines to millions of Americans. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the emergency use of vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna, Inc. The vaccines developed by the two pharmaceutical companies have shown high efficacy and both are expected to receive administration approval this month.
Azar said Sunday that both vaccines might receive approval within the next few days. The administration is set to discuss Pfizer's candidate Thursday and Moderna's Dec. 17.
