Trump names new health sec:

America

Turning to an industry he’s rebuked, President Donald Trump on Monday picked a former top pharmaceutical and government executive to be his health and human services secretary, overseeing a $1 trillion department responsible for major health insurance programs, medical research, food and drug safety, and public health.

The nomination of Alex Azar is unusual because HHS secretaries have tended to come from the ranks of elected officials such as governors, leaders in academia and medicine, or top executive branch managers — not industries regulated by the department.

“He will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!” Trump tweeted in announcing the nomination Monday morning. Trump has a track record of making industryfriendly nominations, such as tapping former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and billionaire businessman Wilbur Ross as secretary of commerce.

But Trump also has been a scathing critic of the pharmaceutical industry, both as a candidate and as president.

Azar, 50, a lawyer by training, has spent most of the last 10 years with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, rising to president of its key US affiliate before leaving in January to start his own consulting firm. He’s seen as an expert on government health care regulation.

As secretary, Azar would be returning to HHS after serving in senior department posts in the George W. Bush administration. Now he’d have to scrupulously avoid conflicts with Lilly’s far-reaching interests, from drug approval to Medicare reimbursement. The drugmaker has drawn criticism from patient advocacy groups for price increases to one of its biggest products: insulin. (AP)

Azar