The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the

United States 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 US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

, and serves as the principal advisor to the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the

United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in Cabinet Room (White House), a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of ...

. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the incumbent secretary of health and human services, having held the position since February 13, 2025. The office was formerly known as the secretary of health, education, and welfare. In 1980, the

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a Cabinet of the United States, cabinet-level United States federal executive departments, executive branch department of the federal government of the United States, US federal ...

was renamed to Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed. Nominations to the office are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the

United States Senate Committee on Finance The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...

, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. The secretary of health and human services is a level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

250,600, as of January 2025.

Duties

The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. This includes advising the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

on matters of

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

, and income security programs. The secretary strives to administer the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out approved programs and make the public aware of the objectives of the department. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was reorganized into a

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and a Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS). The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

List of secretaries

; Parties (9) (15) (2) Status

Health, education, and welfare

Health and human services

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of health and human services is as follows: # Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. # General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services # Assistant Secretary for Administration # Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation # Administrator of the

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer ...

Commissioner of Food and Drugs The United States commissioner of food and drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States an ...

# Director of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

# Assistant Secretary for Children and Families # Other assistant secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office) ## Assistant Secretary for Health ##

Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the United States Public Health Service, U.S. Public Health Service within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health ...

## Assistant Secretary for Legislation ## Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs ## Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources ## Assistant Secretary for

Aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...

# Director of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

# Director, Region 4 (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

)

References

External links

*
Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes
from The Federal Registe
RSS Feed
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

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

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 ...

1980 establishments in the United States