Xavier Becerra will become the public face of the administration’s health agenda after the White House and fellow Democrats spent two months putting President Joe Biden’s stamp on the nation’s pandemic response without him.
The Senate confirmed Becerra as Health and Human Services Secretary on a 50-49 vote Thursday.
Becerra joins the HHS less than a week after Biden signed legislation to expand the Affordable Care Act for the first time, and now those provisions are largely up to the health agency to implement.
Meanwhile, the White House has held almost-daily briefings with key members of the Covid-19 response team. Becerra will have a role in that effort, although what form it takes will evolve over time.
Those two factors make it clear that Becerra will be a central player in the Biden administration and focal point for opponents. He was confirmed with the support of only one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Conservatives questioned his qualifications for the job and accused him of being overly partisan during his time as California’s attorney general.
Democrats acknowledge that some health issues are partisan, namely the ACA, but they hope Republicans will work with them and Becerra on drug pricing legislation and local health issues.
“They’re all going to need to work with him soon,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said. “Certainly their states are going to need a working relationship with HHS.”
Becerra could also be called on to respond to congressional inquiries if Republicans win control of the House in 2022 and turn their attention on what they see as failures in Biden’s pandemic response and other areas.
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