Biden to pick Xavier Becerra for health secretary

Biden to pick Xavier Becerra for health secretary

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Latino California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services, two sources said on Sunday, placing the former congressman in a critical role battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Bryan Wood reports.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services, placing the Latino former Congressman in a key position to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

That's according to two sources, one of which said an official announcement could come as soon as soon as Monday.

It comes after criticism levied at Biden from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for a lack of Latino appointments to his Cabinet.

Becerra, 62, had also been considered a candidate for U.S. Attorney General.

Instead, he will likely lead the federal health agency as it struggles to handle a resurgence of the coronavirus with record infections and daily death rates and as it prepares for a mammoth vaccine roll out.

Biden named some top members of his health team last week and is expected to reveal the full team this week.

He has asked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, to stay on as chief medical adviser.

According to a Reuters tally, more than 281,000 Americans have died from the COVID-19 disease.