CNN’s Gupta Withdraws Name From Consideration for Surgeon General Nomination
CNN medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta on Thursday announced that he has withdrawn his name for consideration for the nomination as surgeon general, the Chicago Tribune reports (Dorning, Chicago Tribune, 3/6). An Obama administration official on Thursday confirmed that Gupta, whom the White House had under "serious consideration" for the nomination as surgeon general, withdrew his name from consideration "to focus more on his medical career and his family" (Washington Times, 3/6). According to a source close to Gupta, he also had concerns that as surgeon general he would not have a prominent role in health care reform efforts (Shear/Kurtz, Washington Post, 3/6)."Gupta's withdrawal is yet another blow to Obama's effort to expand health coverage this year" after former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) last month withdrew his nomination as HHS secretary, The Politico reports (Budoff Brown, The Politico, 3/5). His withdrawal also "means that the often low-profile job" of surgeon general "will not get the mass-media jolt from the appointment of the television celebrity," according to the Washington Post (Washington Post, 3/6). Gupta "would have brought instant recognition to the office of surgeon general, a post that has lacked visibility since the days of C. Everett Koop during Ronald Reagan's presidency," the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Kansas City Star, 3/5).
In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Thursday Gupta said that the surgeon general "has to have a little bit of a higher profile." He added, "Whoever takes this job has to be out there really advocating the issues of public health. At no time is it probably more important than right now, as we're dealing with health care reform. These issues really go hand in hand" (Washington Post, 3/6).
Other Possible Candidates
A possible candidate for the nomination as surgeon general includes Gail Rosseau, chief of surgery at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center. In late 2008, Rosseau underwent a preliminary review process for the nomination that included interviews with some members of congressional committees (Chicago Tribune, 3/6). Other possible candidates include Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE and a former CDC official (Schneider, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/6).
A transcript of the Gupta interview on "Larry King Live" is available online.
