Andrea Joan Palm (born 1973) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

government health advisor who is the

United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services The deputy secretary of health and human services (formerly the under secretary of health, education, and welfare, 1953–1979, and the under secretary of health and human services, 1979–1990) is the chief operating officer of the United States D ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

. Previously, Palm served as secretary-designee of the

Wisconsin Department of Health Services The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WisDHS) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for maintaining public health. It administers a wide range of services in the state and at state institutions, regulates hosp ...

from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 200 ...

, an office she was never sworn into due to Republican obstruction in the Wisconsin Senate. She worked as a senior staffer in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

policy advisor during the

presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican n ...

. She was an aide to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

during her time in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Early life and education

Palm was born and raised in

Star Lake, New York Star Lake is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the Adirondack Mountains of St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 809 at the 2010 census. Star Lake is in the Town of Clifton, but part of the community is in the ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human services studies from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...

from the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

Career

Palm began her career as a legislative assistant for California Congressman

Bob Matsui Robert Takeo Matsui (September 17, 1941 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician from the state of California. Matsui was a member of the Democratic Party and served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the congressman for California's ...

. She then worked as a health policy advisor to then-U.S. Senator,

. In 2009, Palm was appointed deputy assistant

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

for Legislation by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. Since the role of Assistant Secretary for Legislation was vacant, she served as Acting Assistant Secretary during that time. Palm then served as a policy advisor to the

United States Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office o ...

at the

. She rejoined the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

to serve as an advisor to the

Assistant Secretary for Health The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position is a statutory office () and the holder of the office serves as the United State ...

and Chief of Staff of the HHS.

Wisconsin DHS

In January 2019, Governor-elect

nominated Palm to serve as Secretary of the

. Palm and other Evers-nominated cabinet secretaries began performing their duties while their confirmation hearings were pending. Palm's nomination stalled in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

-controlled

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

, with members citing Palm's decision to name a former

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

lobbyist as her deputy.

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

Majority Leader,

Scott L. Fitzgerald Scott Lawrence Fitzgerald (born November 16, 1963) is an American politician and former newspaper publisher. A Republican, he represents in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes many of Milwaukee's northern and western suburb ...

blocked Palm's nomination from appearing before a full Senate vote.

COVID-19 response

While still acting as Secretary-designate, Palm was tasked with managing

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Various mayors requested that Palm use emergency authorities as Secretary to mail ballots to every registered voter, so as not to require voters to cast ballots in person in the April 2020 primary election. Governor

signed an executive order for all-mail-in election, but the order was rejected by the Republican-controlled

. In March 2020, in order to slow the transmission of COVID-19, Governor Evers issued an order restricting nonessential travel and the operation of nonessential businesses. The order expired in late April 2020, but on May 26, 2020, Palm extended the order at Evers' direction. Republican state legislators sued Palm, seeking to strike down her order. Palm's updated stay-at-home order was struck down in a ruling by the conservative-controlled

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

, effectively reopening several businesses in the state against warnings by public health officials. In the 4–3 decision, the Court ruled that while Evers had emergency powers authority, Palm did not.

Biden administration

On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Palm would be nominated to serve as

in the incoming

. Palm subsequently announced that her last day at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services would be January 20, 2021. Her nomination to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services was submitted to the

on February 22, 2021. On May 11, 2021, by a vote of 61-37, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

confirmed her nomination. She was sworn in by HHS Secretary

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Jan ...

on May 12.

Personal life

Palm is married to Dan Utech, a former advisor in the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

and

. Utech later served as Deputy Assistant to

for Energy and Climate Change before becoming a lecturer at the

Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs (Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environmen ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palm, Andrea United States Deputy Secretaries of Health and Human Services Biden administration personnel Obama administration personnel State cabinet secretaries of Wisconsin Washington University in St. Louis alumni Cornell University alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Wisconsin Democrats People from St. Lawrence County, New York Living people 1973 births