Trump taps Alex Azar, fmr. Eli Lilly exec., as new HHS chief: Who is he?
President Donald Trump announced his decision on Twitter Monday morning to nominate Alex Azar as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.
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
Azar would fill the slot vacated by former Georgia Senator Tom Price, who resigned in September amid widespread public outcry over his use of taxpayer-funded private flights during his time with the White House.
Here are a few things to know about the new nominee.
Big pharma background
Azar comes with experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having served as the president of Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:LLY) U.S. division, Lilly USA, for five years.
When he stepped down from his executive position at Lilly USA in January, he founded a health care consulting firm called Seraphim Strategies. The firm provides consulting on the biopharmaceutical and health insurance industries.
Previous White House experience
Azar served as Health and Human Services general counsel and deputy secretary during George W. Bush’s administration. He was general counsel between 2001 and 2005 and helped with the administration’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Azar served two more years with the department as deputy secretary.
Other
Azar has a law degree from Yale University Law School and worked as a law clerk under Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away in February of 2016.
Azar served as a partner at one of the largest law firms in Washington, D.C., Wiley Rein, for five years.
A senior White House official told FOX Business on Monday that Azar is a twice-unopposed Senate nominee who knows the agency and can get things moving.