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Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Xavier Becerra served twelve terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 33rd Attorney General of California. As a member of the House, he served on the Committee on Ways and Means, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Social Security, and, ultimately, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not typically viewed in the lens of American foreign policy. However, major global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have thrust this role onto the international stage and has had a measurable impact on the U.S.-China diplomatic relationship.
The most recent and prominent example of this was the Trump administration’s HHS Secretary Alex Azar visit to Taiwan on August 10, 2020 with a delegation of CDC and other high-level government officials. This was not only the first visit to Taiwan by an HHS Secretary and the first Cabinet member to visit in six years, but it was also the highest level visit by a U.S. Cabinet official since 1979. During this visit, then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar met with President Tsai Ing-wen and then signed a memorandum of understanding reaffirming “longstanding cooperation to address health challenges, including COVID-19.”
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a confirmation hearing for Becerra on February 23, 2021 and the Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing the following day. Becerra was confirmed by the Senate 50-49 on March 18, 2021.
On China
It remains to be seen if Becerra will be utilized in such a high-level diplomatic format as Alex Azar was. He has had limited public engagements with China, but past actions as a member of Congress and as Attorney General of California potentially indicate his positions on certain issues. For instance, as the representative of California’s 30th District, Becerra voted “Aye” on the historic H.R. 4444 (106th): China Trade bill of 2000.
In August 2017, as Attorney General of California, Becerra announced a default judgement against Ningbo Beyond, an apparel manufacturing company based in China that operates in California, which reportedly had not paid for software licensing fees it was utilizing from Adobe, Microsoft, and more. In this same release, Becerra was quoted as saying “All businesses in California must compete on a level playing field. Ningbo Beyond tried to cheat the system by using pirated software to undercut its competition and boost its profits.”
Although Becerra appears to echo an increasingly bilateral sentiment that is more frequently stated by members of the U.S. government – that China must compete on a level playing field – he has also indicated clear disapproval of Donald Trump’s handling of COVID-19, particularly Trump’s labeling of it as the “China Virus”. On March 18, 2020, in response to a tweet from Trump, Becerra wrote “A virus does not hate or discriminate based on race and ethnicity. Xenophobia has no place in our society.”
However, when there was a renewed interest in a “Phase 2” study into the origins of the coronavirus, Becerra expressed his public support and approval for “transparent, science-based” study that gives researchers “the independence to fully assess the source…and the early days of the outbreak” in China. The statement was part of his remarks at the 74th World Health Assembly on May 25, 2021.
Phase 2 of the COVID origins study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science-based, and give international experts the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak…
He also summarized his thoughts in early December 2021 on the current breaks in global engagement over the pandemic:
It’s one of those ‘failure is not an option’ type of situations.…I think everybody around the world, certainly those in leadership, understand that, if we don’t do something real, we’re gonna pay the price.
Notable Speeches, Testimony & Commentary
- Becerra released a comment while attending the opening of a new regional CDC office in Hanoi, Vietnam on August 25, 2021.
Through this office, we will work closely with our regional partners to share strategies and strengthen each other’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, today and in the future.
- “Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2022 HHS Budget,” U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce, May 12, 2021
- In his written testimony, Becerra did not mention China but did mention the importance of the CDC’s ability to “support core public health
capacity improvements overseas and strengthen global health security by improving its ability to deploy experts internationally, and support efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging global biological threats.”
- In his written testimony, Becerra did not mention China but did mention the importance of the CDC’s ability to “support core public health
- On June 3 and 4, 2021, Becerra joined his fellow G7 health ministers for the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting, hosted by the United Kingdom in Oxford, England. Among other topics, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed, to which Becerra commented that there needs to be a “transparent, science-based” follow-up into the origins of the pandemic.
- According to The Washington Post, “Becerra carefully directed his words not at the WHO, but at Beijing” when he said that international experts should be given “the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak”.
- On May 25, 2021, Secretary Becerra delivered remarks to the 74th World Health Assembly, which he also released in a video message on Twitter. In those remarks was a statement on the renewed interest in studying the origins of the coronavirus pandemic:
Phase 2 of the COVID origins study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science-based and give international experts the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak
- “Senate Questions Health Secretary Nominee Xavier Becerra,” Transcript, NPR, February 23, 2021
Media Commentary & Public Perceptions
The media and public at large has had a very mixed reaction to Becerra as HHS Secretary, which may have contributed to his delayed confirmation hearing.
- “AMA statement on the nominations of Xavier Becerra, Vivek Murthy,” American Medical Association, press release, December 17, 2020
- “Biden HHS nominee Becerra faces GOP confirmation concerns over abortion, universal health care,” NBC News, December 28, 2020
- “Biden’s HHS pick Becerra will divide America on health care,” The Boston Herald, January 14, 2021
- “Xavier Becerra’s Nonprofit Problem,” The Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2021
- “Mike Braun (R-IND): Biden should reconsider divisive HHS nominee Xavier Becerra,” January 28, 2021
- “How Republicans plan to sink Xavier Becerra’s nomination,” The Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2021
It is Becerra’s perceived political and policy sins that are fueling the bid to block him. His California credentials aren’t helping in a Senate where Republicans have no shortage of hostility toward the state…
- “Republicans seek to pin California’s Covid-19 problem on Biden’s HHS pick,” POLITICO, February 6, 2021
“The case we’ll make against Becerra is: He will make your life worse. He will make the pandemic worse,” a senior Republican aide said. “To the extent he was involved with the pandemic in California, he laid the legal groundwork for lockdowns and closing houses of worship. Becerra owns all of that.”
- “Senate committee to hold confirmation hearing for Biden’s HHS nominee next week,” CNN, February 16, 2021
- “Senate panel splits along party lines on Becerra,” The Hill, March 3, 2021
Page Last Updated: January 26, 2022
*None of the personnel in this tracker are associated with the Institute for China-America Studies. All images used on this page are sourced from the official Biden-Harris transition website buildbackbetter.gov or the public domain.*
