Becerra's big challenge: Vaccinating Americans against virus

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — In choosing Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, President-elect Joe Biden tapped a robust defender of the Affordable Care Act who will face questions about whether he possesses the health care and management experience needed to lead the massive effort to vaccinate a nation against a deadly pandemic.

As California's attorney general, Becerra leads the nation's largest state justice department, an influential perch from which he's fought Republican efforts to roll back health coverage. But he has been less involved in the day-to-day work to combat the coronavirus, is not a health care expert and has not overseen an office as sprawling as the Department of Health and Human Services.

With the U.S. expected to begin vaccine distribution in the coming months, few Cabinet posts will have such influence over the nation's ability to move past the pandemic, an effort that will likely define the Biden presidency. Allies of Becerra, a former congressman who would be the first Latino HHS secretary at a time when the pandemic is taking a disproportionate toll on people of color, say he's well suited for the role.

“He has skills that sometimes are beyond expertise,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who represents the Los Angeles-area district near where Becerra served for some two decades. “Leadership skills, management skills, an understanding how the Hill works, how the Senate works.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra would lead a $1 trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans. Becerra, 62, tweeted Monday that in Congress he helped pass the Affordable Care Act and as California’s attorney general he has defended it.

“As Secretary of...