Biden Picks California Attorney General Becerra for HHS (1)

President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Xavier Becerra as his Health and Human Services secretary, tasking the California Attorney General with curbing the coronavirus pandemic and expanding the Affordable Care Act.

Becerra, a former congressman from the Los Angeles area, emerged as a candidate as others Biden had considered fell out of contention, including another candidate, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, backed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

His forthcoming nomination solves one of the highest-stakes selections outside of the traditional four top cabinet positions, in part because Biden has placed a heavy emphasis on the coronavirus outbreak, which has ...