Tag Archives: Xavier Becerra

Politico reports: Xavier Becerra, the former health secretary under President Joe Biden, is joining the burgeoning field to be California’s next governor — regardless of whether Kamala Harris seeks the post. The former California attorney general, who has been mulling a run for the state’s top job for at least a year, launched his bid in a brief video on …

The Associated Press reports: Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning. The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately sets the stage for a showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry …

The New York Times reports: The Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before they undergo sensitive examinations — like pelvis and prostate exams — especially if the patients will be under anesthesia. A New York Times investigation in 2020 found that hospitals, doctors and doctors in training sometimes …

The New York Times reports: More than 15 million people have signed up for health insurance plans offered on the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace, a 33 percent increase compared to the same time last year, according to preliminary data released by the Biden administration on Wednesday. Federal health officials project that more than 19 million people will enroll in …

The Washington Post reports: The nation’s top health agency is recommending easing restrictions on marijuana in what could portend a landmark shift in federal policy on cannabis. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk, Schedule III controlled substance. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, …

Politico reports: The Biden administration is updating the nation’s main health privacy law to offer stronger legal protections to people who obtain abortions in their state or who cross state lines for the procedure, as well as their doctors and loved ones. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights on Wednesday will issue a Notice of …

The Hill reports: HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra said the move by a federal judge in Texas to block the approval of a type of abortion medication could have far-reaching effects on the status of other federally-approved medications and vaccinations. “When you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you’re not talking about just mifepristone,” Becerra said on CNN. “You’re …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. government on Thursday released its long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, citing the toll on Black smokers and young people. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement. He added that the …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a landmark proposal intended to improve access to and reduce the cost of hearing aid technology for millions of Americans. The agency proposed a rule to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. When finalized, the rule would allow hearing aids within this category …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care. The action by the Department of Health and Human Services affirms that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in …

CNN reports: The Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra to be the Health and Human Services secretary on Thursday, giving the former California attorney general a crucial role in fighting the pandemic. Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, is the first Latino HHS secretary. The vote was 50 to 49. During the confirmation process, Becerra stressed his upbringing, his father’s recent …

ABC News reports: The Senate is poised to confirm Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday despite nearly unanimous opposition from Republicans, who have tried to brand him as a radical and unqualified. Becerra, currently the attorney general of California, would be the first Latino to lead the department. If he is confirmed, Becerra …

The Hill reports: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday said he will vote to confirm Xavier Becerra as secretary of Health and Human Services. Manchin’s support will likely give Democrats the necessary votes for confirmation, after the Senate Finance Committee deadlocked on advancing President Biden’s nominee to lead the health agency. It is unclear if any GOP senators will vote …

The Wall Street Journal reports: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is expected to face a tough confirmation hearing Tuesday as Republicans are set to argue that President Biden’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary is overly liberal and lacks public-health experience. Mr. Becerra’s hearing Tuesday with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will be followed by a …

Politico reports: Conservatives know they likely don’t have the votes to block President Joe Biden’s pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra. But they’re launching new ad blitzes and pressure campaigns targeting Senate Democrats up for reelection and others they believe can be swayed, aiming to make a vote to confirm him a political liability. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who has …

From hate group leader Tony Perkins: HHS has jurisdiction over virtually every aspect of federal policy concerning abortion policy. Which is why President Biden’s nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is so troubling. Mr. Becerra served in Congress for 24 years, where he was one of the most strident advocates for abortion-on-demand in the House. The National Abortion Rights …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected Xavier Becerra, a former congressman who is now the Democratic attorney general of California, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, ending a politically delicate search that brought complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about a lack of Latinos in the incoming cabinet. Mr. Becerra …

NPR reports: The state of California appears to be backing off legal threats against the California Republican Party over their use of unauthorized ballot drop boxes. On Monday, California’s secretary of state and attorney general sent a cease and desist order to the California GOP and several county party offices, ordering they remove unauthorized boxes to collect ballots, some of …

Just in via press release: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal diversion of $3.8 billion in taxpayer dollars for the construction of an unauthorized wall along the US-Mexico border. For the second consecutive fiscal year, the Trump Administration has circumvented the will of Congress …

The Sacramento Bee reports: California and 22 other states sued the Trump administration Friday over the federal government’s revocation of California’s authority to impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars. The suit came a day after federal officials formally revoked California’s powers under the federal Clean Air Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and other state …