Biden wants Vivek Murthy to return as his Surgeon General

TWITTER

President-elect Joe Biden, right, named Vivek Murthy, left, to be his Surgeon General.

President-elect Joe Biden named the individuals who he wants to combat the coronavirus, his No. 1 priority when he takes office. Former Solicitor General Vivek Murthy, an Indian American, will take on the role again with expanded duties.

Murthy, 43, is the second Asian American Biden has named to high profile positions in his administration, that also includes Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Last week, he named Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget.

The selection of Murthy appears to be a no-brainer. He is already advising Biden as the chair of his Covid-19 task force. His name was brought up as a possible head of Health and Human Services, but it was felt that he shouldn't be spending all his time managing the huge HHS Department with 80,000 employees with a a $1-trillion budget.

While not a Cabinet position, Murthy will take on the role as Surgeon General where his medical expertise can best be used advising Biden on the health policies that would be implemented by HHS. Under Biden's administration, Murthy's role will be expanded with a "broader portfolio," according to one source close to Biden with the initial emphasis -- perhaps the first year -- handling the pandemic crisis. After the coronavirus is under control, Murthy would handle systemic health care issues including subastance abuse, mental health and racial disparities in health care.

He will be assisted by Marcella Nunez-Smith, a co-chair of Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, She will also take a key role in the administration’s coronavirus response, focused on health disparities.

As Murthy moves into the role of Solicitor General, Transition co-chair and former Obama administration official Jeff Zients will take over the position as the White House’s Covid-19 coordinator. The distribution of coronavirus vaccines -- a huge logistical task -- will fall under Zients.

While praise for Murthy is almost bipartisan, not so for Zients, who was the head of the Obama administration’s National Economic Council, largely responsible for a federal rule that would prevent financial advisers from taking advantage of retirees. He won praise from progressives for fending off fierce resistance from Wall Street and for fighting for consumer protections which automatically makes him personal non grata among the investment and business sector.

Ironically, those same progressives in the Democratic Party could squelch his nomination because during the Trump administration, Zients was CEO of Cranemere, an investment firm. In the eyes of the Dems' left wing, anybody with business ties or with a reputation for cost-cutting, is suspect.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions.