President Trump Nominates Alex Azar to be Next Secretary of Health and Human Services

On November 13, 2017, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he is nominating Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

If confirmed, Azar will succeed Tom Price, who resigned as Secretary of Health and Human Services in September. The Department of Health and Human Services includes the Office of Refugee Resettlement, giving it a role in the U.S. immigration system [PDF version].

Azar has extensive experience in the private and public sectors. From 2007 to January 2017, Azar served in various capacities with the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. During the administration of President George W. Bush, Azar served as general counsel for Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 and as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2005 to 2007 [link].¹ Prior to his service in government, Azar was an attorney. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and clerked for former Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then-Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States.²

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1. Groppe, Maureen. “Who is Alex Azar? Former drugmaker CEO and HHS official nominated to head agency.” USA Today. Nov. 13, 2017. usatoday.com
2. Id.