Mr. Alex Azar (Photo: nytimes.com)
In tweeting the announcement, President Trump called Mr. Azar a "star for better healthcare and lower drug prices."
“The drug companies, frankly, are getting away with murder,” the President said at a cabinet meeting last month. Prices were “out of control” and “have gone through the roof”, he said.
Mr. Alex Azar, who previously served as HHS General Counsel and Deputy Secretary for former President George W. Bush, is known as a detail-oriented bureaucrat who understands how to work the regulatory system to get things done.
"He's precise, highly motivated, he has high standards for performance for himself and for other people," said Mike Leavitt, who was HHS Secretary when Azar was Deputy. "He had full responsibility as Deputy Secretary for the regulatory processes at HHS."
If confirmed, Mr. Alex Azar would oversee a USD1 trillion department responsible for major health insurance programs, including Obamacare, as well as medical research, food and drug safety, and public health.
The HHS, also known as the Health Department, is a cabinet-level department of the US federal government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans 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./.