Biden To Pick Former West Virginia Health Official As Nation's Drug Czar

Rahul Gupta, ally of Manchin, would oversee drug policy strategy if confirmed. Washington Post, July 13, 2021.

President Biden has selected a former West Virginia health official as the nation’s top drug policy official, according to two White House officials with knowledge of the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations.

Rahul Gupta, the top health official at maternal-and-child advocacy group March of Dimes, will be nominated as the next director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, these people said. Biden’s announcement is slated for 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Gupta, a primary-care doctor who previously served as West Virginia’s health commissioner and led Biden’s transition efforts for the drug policy office, would be the first physician to serve as drug czar if confirmed by the Senate.

“President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Rahul Gupta to be the first physician ever to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is another historic step in the Administration’s efforts to turn the tide of our nation’s addiction and overdose epidemic. Dr. Gupta brings firsthand experience as a medical doctor and public health official using evidence-based strategies to address the overdose epidemic in West Virginia,” the White House said in a statement. “We hope he will be confirmed by the Senate soon.”...

More,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/13/biden-gupta-drug-czar/