Poised To Take Over HHS, Anti-Bureaucracy Price Will Get Chance To Practice What He Preaches
With roots as a physician, Rep. Tom Price, Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, is a proponent of removing government intervention in the health care sector. In other administration news, Trump's possible nominee for defense secretary will have to defend ties to beleaguered Theranos, Republicans implore Trump to keep the National Institutes of Health director and the head of Zenefits eyes the transition team as his next possible career step.
The New York Times:
Tom Price Is Eager To Lead H.H.S., And Reduce Its Clout
During his 12 years in Congress, Representative Tom Price has made clear what role he thinks the government should play in health care. It can be summed up in one word: less. Throughout his career, Mr. Price — who has been picked by President-elect Donald J. Trump to be secretary of health and human services — has argued that the government should get out of the way of doctors and give patients more control over their health care. (Pear, 12/4)
The Washington Post:
Trump’s Pick For Defense Secretary Went To The Mat For The Troubled Blood-Testing Company Theranos
Retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, reportedly President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, had a long military career, leading the U.S. Central Command before he retired in 2013. But a series of emails obtained by The Post last year revealed that, in a lesser-known incident late in his military tenure, Mattis took the unusual step of personally pushing for a start-up company — the controversial blood-testing Theranos — to land a deal for a military field test. (Johnson, 12/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Recent Retirement, Theranos Ties Pose Possible Obstacles For Mattis Confirmation
Gen. Mattis may face questions over his ties to Theranos Inc., the embattled blood-testing startup. He joined the board in July 2013, a couple of months after retiring. As of Friday, Theranos’s website listed him as a director. Theranos referred questions on Gen. Mattis’s directorship to him; a representative for Gen. Mattis didn’t respond to requests for comment. His ties to the company go back to his days overseeing the military’s operations in the Middle East and Central Asia. In 2012, Gen. Mattis, then leading the military’s Central Command, pressed for the U.S. Army to procure Theranos lab equipment and deploy it in the battlefield, senior military officials involved in Army medical research said. (12/2)
The Hill:
Key Republicans Ask Trump To Keep On NIH Director
Francis Collins should stay on as director of the National Institutes of Health, four top GOP lawmakers said in a letter sent to President-elect Donald Trump Friday and obtained by The Hill Extra. “As the Director for over the past seven years, his distinguished scientific experience, effective leadership skills, and long standing relationships with Members of Congress, researchers, and advocates will service the Nation and your Administration well,” the letter states. (Roubien, 12/2)
Stat:
Keep Francis Collins As NIH Director, Key Republicans Urge
In a letter sent Friday, top congressional Republicans urged President-elect Donald Trump to keep Dr. Francis Collins as director of the National Institutes of Health. Collins received the endorsement from key GOP members of Congress: outgoing House and Energy Commerce chairman Fred Upton, Senate health committee chairman Lamar Alexander, and the two chairmen of the appropriations committees that oversee NIH: Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri and Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma. (Scott, 12/2)
The New York Times:
Zenefits Chief Quitting And Is Said To Consider Trump Transition Team
Zenefits, a once highflying human resources software start-up that defined Silicon Valley’s recent technology boom, has been trying to recover its footing after being rocked by scandal over its business practices earlier this year. Now David O. Sacks, the chief executive of Zenefits and the tech veteran who was charged with rejuvenating the embattled company, plans to leave his position. Mr. Sacks said that he would become Zenefits’s chairman and that the company was starting a search for a new chief executive. (Isaac and Benner, 12/2)
