The White House is growing increasingly frustrated with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to a new Washington Post report.
Becerra, a former congressman and California attorney general, is attempting to lead HHS during a pandemic despite having no health-care experience whatsoever, which has made for an “uneasy” relationship from the start.
White House officials have grown so frustrated with top health official Xavier Becerra as the pandemic rages on that they have openly mused about who might be better in the job, although political considerations have stopped them from taking steps to replace him, officials involved in the discussions said. […]
[T]heir dissatisfaction has escalated in recent months as the omicron variant has sickened millions of Americans in a fifth pandemic wave amid confusing and sometimes conflicting messages from top health officials that brought scrutiny to Biden’s strategy, according to three senior administration officials and two outside advisers with direct knowledge of the conversations.
The frustration with Becerra comes as top White House and health officials face growing criticism for health messaging missteps, as well as controversial policies about coronavirus testing and isolation. […]
They also said the health secretary isn’t fulfilling a core responsibility of his job, which is to act as a de facto field marshal coordinating the nation’s vast health bureaucracy to achieve the White House’s strategy, even though he does not set it. For instance, they cited officials’ airing of differences over booster shots and covid-19 isolation guidance as confusing and unnecessary. They said the tension between Becerra and the White House has complicated the pandemic response at a time when Americans are already exhausted and struggling to make sense of ever-changing guidelines. (The Washington Post)
National Review and others tried to warn the administration.
And remember how Biden and his administration dismissed those arguments, and insisted Becerra was the best choice, and he would be a fine HHS Secretary?https://t.co/AYjo6TTFZr
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 31, 2022
Well, after one year, the early verdict is in…https://t.co/9VVOLFCFvb pic.twitter.com/MKLh0eo3lQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 31, 2022
Say, does it look like maybe blind partisan reflexes spurred Democrats to defend a guy who really was a bad fit for that job?
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 31, 2022
And that maybe Biden just plain botched the choice, and would be better off making a change?https://t.co/AYjo6TTFZr
White House spokesman Kevin Munoz denied the report.
“Since day 1, the administration has managed a strong, coordinated COVID-19 response thanks to Secretary Becerra and HHS officials at every level of government,” he told WaPo, adding that the criticism amounted to “anonymous gossip.”
“HHS is one of the most critical agencies in this fight and we have built a coordinated operation that is working together day and night, every single day of the week,” he said.
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