The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Alex Azar II as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vote was 55-43.
Azar previously served as president of Lilly USA, a division of pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly. Before joining Lilly, he served as general counsel for the HHS and then as deputy secretary of the department in the George W. Bush administration. Azar has a law degree from Yale Law School in New Haven, CT.
He succeeds Tom Price, MD, who resigned in September 2017 after it was revealed he had used private charter aircraft for official travel, according to multiple reports.
