Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th
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 ...
since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the
attorney general of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, representing
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...
in Congress from 1993 to 2017. A member of the
Democratic Party, Becerra was
Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.
Born in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, Becerra graduated from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and received his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
degree from
Stanford Law School. He worked as a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an administrative assistant for state senator
Art Torres
Arthur A. Torres (born September 24, 1946) is an American former politician who served as a member of the California State Legislature. He is the vice chair of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the governing Board of the California I ...
. He served as a deputy attorney general in the
California Department of Justice
The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the California Attorney General (AG) which carries out complex cri ...
from 1987 to 1990 before he was elected to the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The ...
, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.
Becerra was first elected to the House of Representatives in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
. He represented
California's 30th congressional district
California's 30th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The 30th district takes in the Linda Vista neighborhood of Pasadena, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Tujunga, Burbank, Glendale, Hol ...
from 1993 to 2003,
California's 31st congressional district
California's 31st congressional district is a congressional district in San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. The district is located in the Inland Empire region, including the city of San Bernardino and portions of Rancho ...
from 2003 to 2013, and
California's 34th congressional district
California's 34th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Located in Los Angeles County, the district is represented by Democrat Jimmy Gomez. Its previous U.S. representative, Democrat Xavier Becerra of Los Angel ...
from 2013 to 2017. He served as Chairman of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999,
Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2009 to 2013, and as a member of the
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Early life and education
Born in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, on January 26, 1958, Becerra is the son of working-class parents, Maria Teresa and Manuel Guerrero Becerra. His father was born in the U.S. and raised in
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, and his mother was from
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
.
As a child, Becerra grew up in a one-room apartment with his three sisters. He graduated in 1976 from
C.K. McClatchy High School, located in the center of Sacramento. He studied abroad at the
University of Salamanca in
Salamanca, Spain, from 1978 to 1979, before earning his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
in 1980, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. He received his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
from
Stanford Law School in 1984, and was admitted to the
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...
in 1985.
Early career
Becerra began his career as a lawyer, working on cases involving individuals who had mental disorders for the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
(now Community Legal Aid).
Becerra worked as an administrative assistant for
California state senator
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
D ...
Art Torres
Arthur A. Torres (born September 24, 1946) is an American former politician who served as a member of the California State Legislature. He is the vice chair of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the governing Board of the California I ...
in 1986. He served as a deputy attorney general in the
California Department of Justice
The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the California Attorney General (AG) which carries out complex cri ...
under
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
John Van de Kamp from 1987 to 1990.
After incumbent state assemblyman
Charles Calderon
Charles Michael Calderon (born March 12, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served in both chambers of the California State Legislature.
Early life and education
Calderon was born on March 12, 1950 in Montebello, California. He ...
decided to seek a seat in the California Senate, Becerra launched a grass-roots campaign for the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The ...
, defeating Calderon's Senate aide Marta Maestas in the Democratic primary. He went on to defeat
Republican Lee Lieberg and
Libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
Steven Pencall, receiving 60% of the vote. Becerra served one term in the State Assembly, representing California's 59th district, from 1990 to 1992.
As a state legislator, Becerra worked to pass a law that would increase gang members' sentences.
U.S. House of Representatives (1993–2017)
Elections
In 1992, 25th district congressman
Edward Roybal announced his retirement after 30 years in Congress. Becerra entered the race for the seat, which had been renumbered as the 30th district after redistricting.
Becerra won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 32% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Morry Waksberg, 58%–24%. He won re-election to a second term in 1994 with 66% of the vote. His district was renumbered as the 31st district after the 2000 census.
After redistricting, ahead of the
2012 elections, most of Becerra's old district became the 34th district. He defeated Republican Stephen Smith 85.6% to 14.4%.
Tenure
Becerra was a member of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he served as chairman during the
105th Congress
The 105th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997, ...
.
Becerra voted against the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because he "wanted to see direct protections for responsible homeowners" in the bill.
Becerra was appointed assistant to the Speaker of the House for the 110th Congress. He won his bid to succeed
John Larson as
Vice-Chair in the 111th Congress, defeating
Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn Kaptur (; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in either chamber of Congress, and the second-longest ...
of Ohio by a vote of 175–67.
Becerra successfully ran for a second term as Vice-Chair in 2011 to serve during the
112th Congress
The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
.
During the
111th Congress and
112th Congress
The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
, Becerra served on several high-profile committees. He was appointed to serve on the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles) on March 24, 2010. Becerra was selected to serve on the
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the Super Committee) on August 11, 2011. And on December 23, 2011, he was appointed to serve on a bi-cameral conference committee to find bi-partisan solutions on middle-class tax cuts, unemployment insurance, and the Medicare physician payment rate.
Becerra had a seat on the
House Ways and Means Committee and was the first Latino to serve on the committee.
Abortion rights and pay equity
A writer for ''
Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Literature
* Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan
* ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray
* ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...
'' described Becerra as a "strident supporter of women's health and reproductive rights"; ''The New York Times'' stated that he has been "vocal in the Democratic Party about fighting for women's health". He voted against H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act (PRENDA), which would have imposed civil and criminal penalties on anyone knowingly attempting to perform a
sex-selective abortion. The 2012 bill also would have required health care providers to report known or suspected violations to law enforcement, including suspicions about a woman's motives for seeking an abortion. Becerra received a 100% rating from
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 ...
and
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access t ...
in 2012. Becerra voted for the
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Becerra argued before the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
that the
Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order, should be required to provide
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
services under the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
. In late 2020, arguing that the prosecution would discourage pregnant women from obtaining addiction treatment, Becerra requested that the
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly h ...
block the murder prosecution of a woman who had consumed
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...
during her pregnancy, resulting in a
stillbirth
Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...
. The court declined to do so. In response to the Trump administration's 2020 decision to restrict federal funding to California because it requires insurance providers to cover abortion, Becerra stated that "California has the sovereign right to protect women's reproductive rights".
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
**
Subcommittee on Oversight
**
Subcommittee on Health
**
Subcommittee on Social Security
*
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Hispanic Caucus (Former Chair)
*
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and c ...
*
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Other political ambitions
2001 Los Angeles mayoral election
Becerra ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He finished with 6% of the primary vote, finishing behind businessman
Steve Soboroff, Councilman
Joel Wachs
Joel Wachs (, ; born March 1, 1939) is an American former politician and lawyer. He is the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 30 years, where he was ...
, former
California State Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...
, and the eventual winner, then-
City Attorney James Hahn.
Consideration for federal government positions
In 2008, Becerra was considered for the position of
U.S. Trade Representative
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by the ...
in the administration of President-elect Obama. While it was reported that he had already accepted, he announced on December 15 that he would not accept the position. Becerra had endorsed then-Senator
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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
for president on January 27, 2008.
Becerra was on the shortlist of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
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 ...
for the
vice presidential nomination in 2016.
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
was eventually chosen.
During the
presidential transition of Joe Biden in 2020, it was reported that Becerra was being considered for the Cabinet positions of
Secretary of Homeland Security and
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
.
2020 U.S. Senate speculation
In August 2020, California Senator
Kamala Harris was selected by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate. After Biden ultimately won the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, Becerra was floated as a possible replacement for Harris, along with others such as Representative
Karen Bass, Representative
Barbara Lee, Secretary of State
Alex Padilla
Alejandro Padilla ( ; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from ...
(who was eventually chosen), and former Secretary of Labor
Hilda Solís. Early December reports that Biden planned to nominate Becerra as
Secretary of Health and Human Services rendered such speculation moot.
California Attorney General (2017–2021)
Becerra accepted
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
's offer to be the
attorney general of California on December 1, 2016. The
California Legislature confirmed Becerra to the post on January 23, 2017. He succeeded
Kamala Harris, who was elected to 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 po ...
. Becerra was sworn in January 24, 2017, becoming the first Latino to serve as California's attorney general. Becerra was elected to a full four-year term in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, after defeating Republican challenger Steven Bailey and securing 61 percent of the vote.
While Attorney General, Becerra delivered the Democratic Spanish-language response to President Trump's 2019
State of the Union address.
California Department of Justice reforms
In 2018, Becerra created an
environmental justice
Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justi ...
branch of the California Department of Justice. Among other projects, it opposed the effort to expand
San Bernardino International Airport due to concerns regarding
air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
.
California law enforcement
Becerra brought fourteen felony charges against
Center for Medical Progress
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) is an anti-abortion organization founded by David Daleiden in 2013. The CMP is best known for producing undercover recordings that prompted Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy, a controve ...
activists for recording fourteen videos (see
Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy), and one felony charge for conspiring to invade privacy, on March 28, 2017. The charges were dismissed by a California Superior Court judge in June for not stating the names of those recorded and the specific dates of the recordings; the charges were refiled with the names and dates in July 2017.
In 2019, Becerra threatened "legal action" against reporters who had received records of California law enforcement officers who had been convicted of crimes during the past decade.
In December 2020, Becerra was faulted by state district attorneys for not taking leadership to help stop unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, in what was described as the "biggest taxpayer fraud in California history".
In January 2021, investigators said the total fraud was over $11 billion, with $19 billion in claims still under investigation. Most of this money will likely never be recovered, prosecutors said.
Lawsuits against Trump administration
In February 2019, Becerra, Governor Gavin Newsom, and 15 other states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the president's
declaration of a national emergency to fund a wall at the southern U.S. border. As of September 26, 2019, Becerra had sued the Trump administration 62 times in total.
The Trump administration opened 1 million acres in California to
fracking and drilling in December 2019.
Under the new policy, the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...
proposed new lease sales for oil and gas extraction along "California's
Central Valley and
Central Coast, touching eight counties and including 400,000 acres of public land".
California officials and agencies, including Becerra, filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in January 2020.
Despite the multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration filed with other state attorneys general, Becerra had not joined antitrust efforts against any major tech companies. His office would not disclose whether it had examined any tech companies and had not endorsed any joint investigations with other states.
On December 9, 2020, it was reported that Becerra's office had joined 47 other states and the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...
in an antitrust lawsuit against
Facebook, Inc, headquartered in California.
Ballot drafting
As Attorney General of California, Becerra was tasked with writing ballot titles and summaries that appeared on voter information guides and ballots in both the 2018 and 2020 elections. Proponents accused Becerra multiple times of writing biased descriptions that violated the law, which requires "a true and impartial statement of the purpose" of measures. In one of many unsuccessful lawsuits against Becerra, a state judge wrote that attorneys general have "wide latitude" in how they write ballot descriptions. Critics said the responsibility to write the ballot title and summary should be transferred to a different, non-partisan office.
Secretary of Health and Human Services (2021–present)
Confirmation
After Joe Biden's election as president in
November 2020, Becerra was considered a candidate for
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
.
The ''New York Times'' reported in early December 2020 that Biden would nominate Becerra as
Secretary of Health and Human Services. His nomination to lead the Health and Human Services Department has been criticized by pro-life and conservative leaders led by
Students for Life of America, citing his "absence of health care experience and his disregard for people of faith". Becerra's nomination was deadlocked by the
Senate's Finance Committee on March 10, 2021. One day later, on March 11, 2021, Becerra's nomination was discharged from the Finance Committee by the entire Senate, in a vote of 51-48. He was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 50-49 on March 18, 2021, with all but one Democrat present and one Republican,
Susan Collins, voting in favor. This was the narrowest vote for any of Biden's cabinet positions. On March 22, 2021, Becerra was sworn in to be the new secretary.
Tenure
Soon after officially becoming the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Becerra released a statement praising the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
and encouraging people to keep enrolling in its health care program.
Becerra has been widely criticized as health and human services secretary for being absent in the public eye during the pandemic, for being responsible for confusing messaging by federal public health authorities and for the subsequent loss of public trust, and for his passive management style while serving as secretary, with some administration officials, public health experts, and scientists calling for him to improve his performance or step aside; his defenders said he was given an unclear role as secretary.
Becerra was similarly criticized following his agency's response to the
2022 monkeypox outbreak amid issues with health policy communication and what was widely considered a slow response; White House officials said that Becerra sought to scapegoat the states to avoid criticism rather than take responsibility for the subpar response.
On October 6, 2022, Becerra was tasked by President Biden with expeditiously reviewing the
Schedule I classification of
Cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
.
Personal life
Becerra is married to physician Carolina Reyes, and they have three daughters. He is a member of the
Inter-American Dialogue think tank, based in Washington, D.C. Becerra is Roman Catholic.
Election history
California State Assembly
U.S. House of Representatives
California Attorney General
See also
*
List of first minority male lawyers and judges in California
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in California. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their stat ...
*
List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
References
External links
Campaign website
*
Join California Xavier Becerra
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Becerra, Xavier
1958 births
21st-century American politicians
American politicians of Mexican descent
Biden administration cabinet members
California Attorneys General
Catholics from California
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Hispanic and Latino American members of the Cabinet of the United States
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California
Living people
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Members of the Inter-American Dialogue
Mexican-American people in California politics
Politicians from Los Angeles
Politicians from Sacramento, California
Stanford Law School alumni
Stanford University alumni
United States Secretaries of Health and Human Services
University of Salamanca alumni