14. Department of Health and Human Services · Minor · Needs Congress
Merge the Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General positions
Printed page 490 14. Department of Health and Human Services
“The ASH and SG positions should be combined into one four-star position with the rank, responsibilities, and authority of the ASH retained but with the title of Surgeon General and some of the SG’s communications responsibilities, which would include disseminating other HHS messages and sharing general medical advice without legal weight.”
What has happened
- Not started
The two posts remain separate and both are being filled separately. The Senate confirmed Brian Christine as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (the ASH seat, vice Rachel Levine) on 2025-10-07 by record vote 547, and the President has continued to nominate Surgeon General candidates to a distinct four-year term as Medical Director in the Regular Corps - Janette Nesheiwat (withdrawn 2025-05-07), Casey Means (returned 2026-01-03, then withdrawn 2026-05-11) and Nicole Saphier (pending). Congress has not combined the positions.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Among the Senate nominations we keep and search, from congress.gov: four Surgeon General nominations in the 119th Congress, each in the form “to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service … and to be Surgeon General of the Public Health Service for a term of four years, vice Vivek Hallegere Murthy, resigned” - a separate office from the Assistant Secretary for Health, which was filled by a separate nomination.
- Among the bills we keep and search: no bill of the 119th Congress merges the two positions.
- Action
- other
- Object
- Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General positions
- ID
- 1368