The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
Xavier Becerra is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he has held since March 2021. He is the first Latino to hold this position in history. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Becerra was chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.
John Phillip Gingrey is an American physician and former politician who served as a U.S. Representative for Georgia's 11th congressional district from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party (GOP). His district comprised the northwestern suburbs of Atlanta. Since leaving Congress, Gingrey has worked as a senior adviser at the District Policy Group in Washington, D.C., which is the lobbying arm of the Drinker Biddle law firm.
Alex Michael Azar II is an American attorney, businessman, lobbyist, and former pharmaceutical executive who served as the U.S. secretary of health and human services from 2018 to 2021. He was also chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from its inception in January 2020 to February 2020, when he was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.
Stephen Michael Hahn is an American physician who served as the commissioner of food and drugs from 2019 to 2021. Before becoming commissioner, he was an oncologist serving as chief medical executive of the MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2021, he became chief medical officer at Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital firm that launched Moderna.
The United States commissioner of food and drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by the Senate. The commissioner reports to the secretary of health and human services.
Daniel Ronald Levinson is an American attorney who served as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from September 8, 2004, to May 31, 2019. HHS is among the largest departments in the federal government, encompassing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. It also exercises leadership responsibilities in public health emergency preparedness and combating bio-terrorism.
Karen Bollinger DeSalvo is an American business executive, physician and public health expert. She has been Google’s chief health officer since 2019. Previously, she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
Jerome Michael Adams is an American anesthesiologist and a former vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who served as the 20th surgeon general of the United States from September 5, 2017, until January 20, 2021. Prior to becoming Surgeon General, he served as the Indiana state health commissioner, from 2014 to 2017.
Donald Trump assumed office as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017, and his first term ended on January 20, 2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Vanila M. Singh is an American physician and professor with involvement in United States health policy. Singh was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 2014. Early in her career she taught at UCLA Medical Center, and she is currently an associate professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at Stanford University Medical Center. On June 12, 2017, she was appointed the chief medical officer to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a presidential appointment at the Senior Executive Service level. She served as Chair of the Inter-Agency Pain Management Task Force established by the CARA Act of 2016, which released its final report on acute and chronic pain management best practices on May 30, 2019. Dr. Singh was also appointed as the Acting Regional Health Administrator in Region 9 in August 2018.
Robert Peter Kadlec is an American physician and career officer in the United States Air Force who served as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services from August 2017 until January 2021. He is responsible for the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine development program Operation Warp Speed.
Donald John Wright is an American physician, government official, and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Tanzania between 2020 and 2023.
Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies, including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency, he nominated approximately 50 judges, a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24, 2020, 200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets, Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Ronny Lynn Jackson is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy officer. He is the U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district. The district is based in Amarillo and includes the Panhandle and much of northeast Texas, as far as Denton.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force was the United States Department of State task force during the Trump administration. The goal of the Task Force was to coordinate and oversee the administration's efforts to monitor, prevent, contain, and mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Also referred to as the President's Coronavirus Task Force, it was established on January 29, 2020, with Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar as chair. On February 26, 2020, U.S. vice president Mike Pence was named to chair the task force, and Deborah Birx was named the response coordinator.
Rachel Leland Levine is an American pediatrician who has served as the United States Assistant Secretary for Health since March 26, 2021. She is also an admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Brian Edward Harrison is an American government official who served as chief of staff of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 2021 special election for Texas's 6th congressional district, gaining 10.8% of the vote and placing fourth in a field of 23 candidates. He won the special election race for the Texas House of Representatives District 10 on September 28, 2021.
Admiral 
