Xavier Becerra
FILE - In this April 26, 2021 file photo, a nursing student administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at UNLV, in Las Vegas. Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 27, 2021 07:30 AM EDT

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tries on a Colorado-themed mask given to him by U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., during a visit to a pair of buses set up as traveling clinics as part of the state's "Vaccines For All" campaign Friday, June 18, 2021, in Aurora, Colo. The buses are being used to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Top US health official visits Colorado to promote vaccines

By Patty Nieberg Jun. 18, 2021 01:17 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 3, 2021 file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom listens to questions during a news conference outside a restaurant in San Francisco While governors across the country are ending all or most of their coronavirus restrictions, many of them are keeping their pandemic emergency orders in place. Those orders allow them to restrict public gatherings and businesses, mandate masks, sidestep normal purchasing rules, tap into federal money and deploy National Guard troops to administer vaccines. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
As virus cases wane, governors weigh ending emergency orders

By David A. Lieb Jun. 12, 2021 10:42 AM EDT

People sit among physical distancing markers as they wait for buses to go back to their home villages, at the Kalideres bus terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The mass exodus out of major cities in the world's most populous Muslim country is underway despite travel restrictions are imposed by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, as people are heading home to their villages to celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
The Latest: Fiji locks down hospital over coronavirus death

By The Associated Press May. 05, 2021 01:05 AM EDT

President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations at the White House, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
White House offers new tax credit to help spur vaccinations

By Zeke Miller Apr. 21, 2021 12:05 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2019, file photo, Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Federal officials have reversed Trump administration restrictions on using human fetal tissue for medical research. The move clears the way for using government money on work that in the past has led to treatments for a variety of diseases, including COVID-19. The changes announced Friday, April 16, 2021 allow government scientists to resume research that uses tissue from elective abortions. Scientists at universities also can now apply for federal grants without getting approval from a special ethics panel for any such work. The changes overturn rules imposed in June 2019. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra determined there were “no new ethical issues that require special review,” so the agency will return to using procedures that had been in place for decades before the Trump policy change in June 2019, a statement from the agency said. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Federal officials reverse limits on fetal tissue research

By Marilynn Marchione Apr. 16, 2021 04:05 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2020, file photo, Jeremiah Young, 11, right, listens as Dr. Janice Bacon, a primary care physician with Central Mississippi Health Services, explains the necessity of receiving inoculations prior to attending school, while at the Community Health Care Center on the Tougaloo College campus in Tougaloo, Miss. Twenty community health centers in Mississippi will receive around $77.5 million in April 2021 to support COVID-19 vaccination and other services for vulnerable populations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Health centers receive $77.5 million to care for underserved

By Leah Willingham Mar. 25, 2021 05:22 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2015, file photo, a sign is seen in the window of a bail bonds office across from the Hall of Justice in San Francisco. The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday, March 25, 2021, that judges must consider suspects' ability to pay when they set bail, essentially requiring that indigent defendants be freed unless they are deemed too dangerous to be released awaiting trial. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
California high court: Judges must weigh ability to pay bail

By Don Thompson Mar. 25, 2021 01:24 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 18, 2021, file photo, Mary Claire Lane, 86, left, a resident at Hellenic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Canton, Mass., is greeted by her daughter Anne Darling, of Attleboro, Mass., center, during a visit, at the nursing home, in Canton. Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but there’s no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Lawmakers: Require nursing homes to disclose vaccine data

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Mar. 25, 2021 12:27 AM EDT

A migrant carries a child as their group follows an official to an intake area after turning themselves in upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, early Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Biden taps VP Harris to lead response to border challenges

By Jonathan Lemire, Nomaan Merchant, Lisa Mascaro And Aamer Madhani Mar. 25, 2021 12:10 AM EDT

California Assemblyman Rob Bonta speaks during a news conference shortly after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his nomination for state's attorney general, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California governor chooses progressive lawmaker as top cop

By Kathleen Ronayne And Olga R. Rodriguez Mar. 24, 2021 09:22 PM EDT

A child rests its head on a table as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer processes migrants after they crossed into the U.S., early Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Biden taps VP Harris to lead response to border challenges

By Jonathan Lemire, Nomaan Merchant, Lisa Mascaro And Aamer Madhani Mar. 24, 2021 12:27 PM EDT

The U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks to Nevada State Sen. Julia Ratti in Carson City, Nev. Becerra visited Nevada on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, to talk up the Affordable Care Act and efforts underway to expand coverage and reduce the cost of healthcare. (AP Photo/Samuel Metz)
Becerra visits Nevada, stumps for pandemic aid and Obamacare

By Sam Metz Mar. 23, 2021 07:10 PM EDT

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks after meeting with leaders from Georgia's Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, Friday, March 19, 2021, at Emory University in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Asian Americans seek greater political power after shootings

By Will Weissert And Padmananda Rama Mar. 23, 2021 01:42 PM EDT

President Joe Biden talks with Dr. Arnab Chakravarti, Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, left, during a tour of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Tuesday on the campus of The Ohio State University Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio, as Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, listens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden expands 'Obamacare' by cutting health insurance costs

By Alexandra Jaffe And Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Mar. 23, 2021 12:36 AM EDT

Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
Becerra confirmed to shepherd Biden's ambitious health plans

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Mar. 18, 2021 02:04 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2019, file photo, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. California's attorney general and local officials sued the nation's largest senior living home operator Monday, alleging that the company misled consumers on quality ratings and broke laws intended to protect patients when they are discharged from a facility. The suit centers on Brookdale Senior Living Inc.'s 10 California-based skilled nursing facilities, but the Tennessee-based company operates in 43 states. "We are holding Brookdale accountable for artificially increasing its profits by cutting corners when transferring or discharging its patients," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is awaiting Senate confirmation for secretary of health and human services in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
California sues major US nursing home operator over ratings

By Don Thompson Mar. 15, 2021 02:35 PM EDT

In this feb. 24, 2021, photo, Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him —and the new administration— as out of the mainstream. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
Democrats muscle ahead with Biden's health secretary pick

By Kevin Freking Mar. 11, 2021 01:20 PM EST

In this feb. 24, 2021, photo, Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him —and the new administration— as out of the mainstream. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
GOP takes aim at Biden's health care pick on abortion rights

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar And Thomas Beaumont Mar. 03, 2021 05:38 AM EST

President Joe Biden’s Cabinet and Cabinet-level picks. (AP Graphic)
Biden's Cabinet half-empty after slow start in confirmations

By Alexandra Jaffe Mar. 03, 2021 12:15 AM EST