Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said he opposes having President Trump appoint an “opioid czar” to oversee efforts to tackle the epidemic, saying instead the job should fall to the health and human services secretary.
“Some are now saying we need an opioid czar, and I hope you will join me in advising the president that this is a terrible idea,” Alexander, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said to Alex Azar during his hearing for the role as HHS secretary.
“The federal government does not need a new czar. Once confirmed, you need to be the one to take charge of leading the federal government response and letting us know how to help.”
Azar plans to say during his introductory remarks that tackling the opioid epidemic would be one of his top priorities if confirmed as HHS secretary. The epidemic has swelled in recent years because of the use of prescription painkillers and heroin, killing more than 33,000 people in 2015, according to most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Trump administration recently declared the opioid epidemic a “public health emergency,” and carrying out many of the initiatives such a declaration allows would fall to Azar.
A “czar” is sometimes appointed to deal with public health crises, such as when Ron Klain was appointed for a short time to oversee the Ebola outbreak under former President Barack Obama. Those who advocate for a “czar” say that someone overseeing the response to the opioid epidemic could help ensure that the recommendations presented by Trump’s opioid commission, which include a marketing campaign and diverting more people with addictions into treatment, are carried out.
