Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Xavier Becerra was born in January 1958 in Sacramento, California. He studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain before earning an undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford University. He received a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. He began his legal career working for a legal aid group in Central Massachusetts.
Becerra was an administrative assistant for a California state senator. He was deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice for three years. He was elected to the California State Assembly where he served two years before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he held office for 19 years. He was appointed by the California governor to be the State Attorney General, succeeding Kamala Harris, who had been elected to the U.S. Senate.
President Biden nominated Becerra to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He was narrowly confirmed by the Senate and assumed office in March 2021.
He is married to Carolina Reyes, and they have three daughters. Becerra is Catholic.
In the News…
Secretary Xavier Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services made remarks on Farmworker Appreciation Day at an event in California. He addressed the administration’s efforts to protect farm workers from extreme heat.
The HHS secretary said, “There are still not enough protections for workers that are picking the food that we eat.”
The health secretary acknowledged that his department’s jurisdiction is limited and that the Labor Department has more authority. He stated, “We owe everyone who is working to put food on our table the best effort to make sure that they are working under the safest conditions.”
He promoted training on the dangers of heat and smoke from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program, and free workplace health investigations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Becerra? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Xavier Becerra, Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20201
