Trump picks former pharmaceutical exec Alex Azar as his next Health secretary
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday he would name former pharmaceutical company executive Alex Azar as secretary of Health and Human Services.
If confirmed by the Senate, Azar would replace Tom Price, who resigned in September amid a scandal over his use of charter aircraft for personal and official travel.Â
Until January, Azar was the president of Lilly USA, the Indianapolis-based maker of household-name prescription drugs like Prozac, Cialis and Methadone.
He previously served in the Department of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration, when he was general counsel and deputy secretary. He was confirmed for both positions by a unanimous voice vote.
But as Trump’s Health secretary, Azar would manage Trump’s reluctant enforcement of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era health insurance law that requires Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a tax. Trump has also accused pharmaceutical companies of “getting away with murder” in setting drug prices.
Azar brings with him solid conservative credentials: After graduating from Yale Law School, he clerked for Judge Antonin Scalia, then an appeals court judge. He also worked under special prosecutor Ken Starr in the early years of the Whitewater investigation into President Bill Clinton.Â
But Democrats immediately expressed skepticism that Trump’s nominee could lower health care costs — including the price of prescription drugs.Â
“I will closely scrutinize Mr. Azar’s record and ask for his commitment to faithfully implement the Affordable Care Act and take decisive, meaningful action to curtail the runaway train of prescription drug costs,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. “Health care is too personal to be driven by politics, but that is what the leadership of HHS has offered so far.”
Trump announced the pick via Twitter from Manila, where he’s attending a series of Asian summits on a five-nation trip.Â
“Happy to announce, I am nominating Alex Azar to be the next HHS Secretary. He will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!” he wrote.
Happy to announce, I am nominating Alex Azar to be the next HHS Secretary. He will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2017