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 attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. 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.
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.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is the principal advisory group to the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on policy development and provides coordination and support for HHS's strategic and policy planning, planning and development of legislation, program evaluation, data gathering, policy-related research, and regulatory program.
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) is a United States governmental office that coordinates an ambitious whole-of-government approach to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The Initiative collaborates with the Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison, White House Office of Public Engagement and designated federal departments and agencies to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPIs in the areas of economic development, education, health and human services, housing, environment, arts, agriculture, labor and employment, transportation, justice, veterans affairs, and community development.
Executive Order 13765 is the first executive order signed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, which set out interim procedures in anticipation of repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
The Executive Order Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition, also known as the Trumpcare Executive Order, or Trumpcare, is an Executive Order signed by Donald Trump on October 12, 2017, which directs federal agencies to modify how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of the Obama Administration is implemented. The order included a directive to federal agencies to end rules forbidding employers from using health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to pay individual insurance premiums.
Andrea Joan Palm is an American government health advisor who served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025. Previously, Palm served as secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Governor Tony Evers, an office she was never sworn into due to Republican opposition in the Wisconsin Senate.
The federal government of the United States initially responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country with various declarations of emergency, some of which led to travel and entry restrictions and the formation of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. As the pandemic progressed in the U.S. and globally, the U.S. government began issuing recommendations regarding the response by state and local governments, as well as social distancing measures and workplace hazard controls. State governments played a primary role in adopting policies to address the pandemic. Following the closure of most businesses throughout a number of U.S. states, President Donald Trump announced the mobilization of the National Guard in the most affected areas.
Mandy Krauthamer Cohen is an American internist, public health official, and healthcare executive who served as the 20th director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2023 to 2025. She was previously the executive vice president at Aledade and chief executive officer of Aledade Care Solution, a healthcare company.
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party. Upon his inauguration, he became the oldest president in American history, breaking the record set by Ronald Reagan. Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and increased political polarization. He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health. Trump won the election and succeeded Biden as president, making him the second president to be succeeded in office by his predecessor after Benjamin Harrison.
Executive Order 13991, officially titled Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing, is an executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. The order commands federal agencies and properties to require that mitigations to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), be employed and enforced by the employees and visitors of federal land and properties, including social distancing and the wearing of face masks.
The social policy of the Joe Biden administration is intended to improve racial equity, increase access to safe and legal abortions, tighten restrictions on gun sales, among other aims. A number of policies aim to reverse the former policies of President Donald Trump, including the "Muslim" travel ban and loosened anti-discriminatory policies relating to LGBT people.
Executive Order 13994, officially titled Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats, is the tenth executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The order indicates that it is vital to ensure that there is a more analytical approach to dealing with COVID-19 public health threats.
Executive Order 13995, officially titled Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery, was signed on January 21, 2021, and was the eleventh executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The order works to guarantee a fair response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescinded by Donald Trump within hours of his assuming office on January 20, 2025.
Executive Order 13996, officially titled Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats, was signed on January 21, 2021, and was the twelfth executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden. The order indicated that the United States should assemble the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and guarantee a sustainable public health workforce to fight against the COVID-19 virus and other biological threats. The order was rescinded by Donald Trump within hours of his assuming office on January 20, 2025.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been enacted by numerous states and municipalities in the United States, and also by private entities. In September 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would take steps to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for certain entities under the authority of the federal government or federal agencies. Most federal mandates thus imposed were either overturned through litigation, or withdrawn by the administration, although a mandate on health care workers in institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds was upheld. All federal mandates were lifted when the national emergency was declared to have ended in May 2023. A small number of states have gone in the opposite direction, through executive orders or legislation designed to limit vaccination mandates.
The Biden administration COVID-19 action plan, also called the Path out of the Pandemic, is a substantial increase in the use of vaccination mandates as part of the U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic announced by President Joe Biden on September 9, 2021, to be carried out by officials in the Biden administration. The plan included various announced prospective efforts, as well as the issuance of several executive orders.
Carole Johnson is an American health official who served as the administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration from 2022 to 2025. She was previously a member of the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Johnson is a former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
