U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy resigned on Friday after the Trump administration asked the Obama nominee to step down.
“Today, Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
“Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps,” the statement added. “(Health and Human Services) Secretary [Tom] Price thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation. Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, who is the current Deputy Surgeon General, will serve as the acting Surgeon General and assume leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.”
Murthy, a vice admiral, was confirmed and sworn in as the 19th surgeon general in December 2014. His nomination was supported by over 100 national health organizations, including the American Public Health Association and Trust for America’s Health.
In a Facebook post late Friday, Murthy, 39, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve as surgeon general and talked about his Indian roots.
“For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the President to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story,” he wrote. “I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve.”
Trent-Adams had been serving as deputy surgeon general — a role in which she offered advice to the surgeon general regarding the USPHS Commissioned Corps and “communicated the best available scientific information to advance the health of the nation,” her bio page reads. Before joining the USPHS Commissioned Corps in 1992, Trent-Adams earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University, a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The surgeon general Facebook and Twitter pages were updated to show Trent-Adams as the new acting surgeon general immediately after Murthy’s resignation was announced Friday.
