March 18, 2021 — Xavier Becerra was confirmed as secretary of health and human services by the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
The vote was 50 to 49, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to support his confirmation, The New York Times reported.
Becerra is a son of Mexican immigrants who became a member of Congress and California’s attorney general.
He’ll become the first Latino to oversee the HHS, and takes charge as the Biden administration leads the nation out of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already caused more than half a million deaths and has hit people of color particularly hard, the Times reported.
