United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
	Seal of the department
	Flag of the secretary
	Incumbent; Dorothy Fink; Acting since January 20, 2025
	United States Department of Health and Human Services
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal); The Honorable (formal)
Member of	the United States Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States; with Senate advice and consent
Term length	At the President's Pleasure
Constituting instrument	Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953; 67 Stat. 631; 42 U.S.C. § 3501
Formation	April 11, 1953; 71 years ago
First holder	Oveta Culp Hobby
Succession	Twelfth
Deputy	United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I
Website	www.hhs.gov

The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1980, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new United States Department of Education.^[2] Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.^[3]

Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the United States Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid,^[4] before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.

Secretary of Health and Human Services is a level I position in the Executive Schedule,^[5] thus earning a salary of US$246,400, as of January 2024.^[6]

Endocrinologist Dorothy Fink has served as the acting United States secretary of health and human services since January 20, 2025.^[7]

Duties

The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the United States. This includes advising the president on matters of health, welfare, and income security programs. The secretary strives to administer the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out approved programs and make the public aware of the objectives of the department.^[8]

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was reorganized into a Department of Education and a Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS).

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).^[9]

List of secretaries

Parties

Democratic (9) Republican (15) Independent (2)

Status Denotes acting HHS Secretary

Health, education, and welfare

No.	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office
1	Oveta Culp Hobby	Texas	April 11, 1953	July 31, 1955	Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
2	Marion B. Folsom	New York	August 2, 1955	July 31, 1958
3	Arthur Flemming	Ohio	August 1, 1958	January 19, 1961
4	Abraham Ribicoff	Connecticut	January 21, 1961	July 13, 1962	John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
5	Anthony J. Celebrezze	Ohio	July 31, 1962	August 17, 1965	John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
5	Anthony J. Celebrezze	Ohio	July 31, 1962	August 17, 1965	Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
6	John W. Gardner	California	August 18, 1965	March 1, 1968
7	Wilbur J. Cohen	Michigan	May 16, 1968	January 20, 1969
8	Robert Finch	California	January 21, 1969	June 23, 1970	Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
9	Elliot Richardson	Massachusetts	June 24, 1970	January 29, 1973
10	Caspar Weinberger	California	February 12, 1973	August 8, 1975
10	Caspar Weinberger	California	February 12, 1973	August 8, 1975	Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
11	F. David Mathews	Alabama	August 8, 1975	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
12	Joseph A. Califano Jr.	District of Columbia	January 25, 1977	August 3, 1979	Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
13	Patricia Roberts Harris	District of Columbia	August 3, 1979	May 4, 1980^[10]	Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)

Health and human services

No.	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office
13	Patricia Roberts Harris	District of Columbia	May 4, 1980^[10]	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
14	Richard Schweiker	Pennsylvania	January 22, 1981	February 3, 1983	Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
15	Margaret Heckler	Massachusetts	March 10, 1983	December 13, 1985
16	Otis Bowen	Indiana	December 13, 1985	March 1, 1989
17	Louis W. Sullivan	Georgia	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
18	Donna Shalala	Wisconsin	January 22, 1993	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
19	Tommy Thompson	Wisconsin	February 2, 2001	January 26, 2005	George W. Bush (2001–2009)
20	Mike Leavitt	Utah	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush (2001–2009)
–	Charles E. Johnson	Utah	January 20, 2009	April 28, 2009	Barack Obama (2009–2017)
21	Kathleen Sebelius	Kansas	April 28, 2009	June 9, 2014
22	Sylvia Mathews Burwell	West Virginia	June 9, 2014	January 20, 2017
–	Norris Cochran	Florida	January 20, 2017	February 10, 2017	Donald Trump (2017–2021)
23	Tom Price	Georgia	February 10, 2017	September 29, 2017
–	Don J. Wright	Virginia	September 29, 2017	October 10, 2017
–	Eric Hargan	Illinois	October 10, 2017	January 29, 2018
24	Alex Azar	Indiana	January 29, 2018	January 20, 2021
–	Norris Cochran	Florida	January 20, 2021	March 19, 2021	Joe Biden (2021–2025)
25	Xavier Becerra	California	March 19, 2021	January 20, 2025	Joe Biden (2021–2025)
–	Dorothy Fink		January 20, 2025	present	Donald Trump (2025–present)

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of health and human services is as follows:^[11]

Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.
General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
Assistant Secretary for Administration
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Director of the National Institutes of Health
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
Other assistant secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office)
1. Assistant Secretary for Health
2. Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
3. Assistant Secretary for Legislation
4. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
5. Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
6. Assistant Secretary for Aging
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Director, Region 4 (Atlanta, Georgia)

References

^ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
^ Holbrook, M. Cay (February 6, 2017). Foundations of Education: History and theory of teaching children and youths with visual impairments. American Foundation for the Blind. ISBN 9780891283409.
^ "Patricia R. Harris (1977–1979)—Miller Center". millercenter.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
^ "Jurisdiction | The United States Senate Committee on Finance". finance.senate.gov. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
^ 5 U.S.C. § 5312
^ "Salary Table No. 2024-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Retrieved November 14, 2024.
^ "Becerra points to Latino successes in his first year as HHS secretary". NBC News. March 18, 2022.
^ "The President's Cabinet". Ben's Guide. February 1, 2007. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
^ "HHS Agencies & Offices | HHS.gov". Retrieved November 10, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.
^ "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Health and Human Services". Federal Register. February 20, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

External links

Official website
Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes Archived December 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine from The Federal Register RSS Feed

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Vacant as Secretary of Labor	Order of precedence of the United States as Secretary of Health and Human Services	Succeeded by Vacant as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by Secretary of Labor Vacant	12th in line	Succeeded by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Vacant

[1] "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

[2] Holbrook, M. Cay (February 6, 2017). Foundations of Education: History and theory of teaching children and youths with visual impairments. American Foundation for the Blind. ISBN 9780891283409.

[3] "Patricia R. Harris (1977–1979)—Miller Center". millercenter.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.

[4] "Jurisdiction | The United States Senate Committee on Finance". finance.senate.gov. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.

[5] 5 U.S.C. § 5312

[Salary-6] "Salary Table No. 2024-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Retrieved November 14, 2024.

[7] "Becerra points to Latino successes in his first year as HHS secretary". NBC News. March 18, 2022.

[8] "The President's Cabinet". Ben's Guide. February 1, 2007. Retrieved November 15, 2007.

[9] "HHS Agencies & Offices | HHS.gov". Retrieved November 10, 2017.

[PatriciaHarris-10] Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.

[11] "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Health and Human Services". Federal Register. February 20, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

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