The deputy secretary of health and human services (formerly the under secretary of health, education, and welfare, 1953–1979, and the under secretary of health and human services, 1979–1990) is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The deputy secretary oversees all operations within the department, including overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. The most recent deputy secretary was Andrea Palm, who was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 2021.
| United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
|---|---|
Seal of the Department of Health and Human Services | |
Incumbent since June 9, 2025Jim O'Neill | |
| United States Department of Health and Human Services | |
| Style | Mr. Deputy Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal) |
| Reports to | United States Secretary of Health and Human Services |
| Seat | Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | The president with Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Precursor | Under Secretary of Health and Human Services |
| Formation | August 1990 |
| First holder | Constance Horner |
| Salary | Executive Schedule, level II |
| Website | www.hhs.gov |
The deputy secretary is also the regulatory policy officer for the department, overseeing the development and approval of all HHS regulations and significant guidance. In addition, the deputy secretary leads a number of initiatives at the department, including implementing the president's management agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. She also represents the secretary of health and human services on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The deputy secretary is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The deputy secretary is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule. The deputy secretary is assisted by a principal associate deputy secretary of health and human services, two associate deputy secretaries, and three staff assistants. The position of deputy secretary was originally held by an under secretary until the position was retitled in August 1990. The position of under secretary had been in existence since the creation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.
Health, Education, and Welfare
List of Assistant Secretaries
| # | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jane Morrow Spaulding | April 1953 | January 1954 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
List of Under Secretaries
| # | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Rockefeller | June 1953 | December 1954 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| Vacant | December 1954 | September 1955 | ||||
| 2 | Herold Christian Hunt | September 1955 | February 1957 | |||
| Vacant | February 1957 | April 1957 | ||||
| 3 | John Alanson Perkins | April 1957 | March 1958 | |||
| Vacant | March 7, 1958 | March 18, 1958 | ||||
| 4 | Bertha Adkins | March 1958 | January 1961 | |||
| 5 | Ivan Arnold Nestingen | January 1961 | May 1965 | John F. Kennedy | ||
| Lyndon B. Johnson | ||||||
| 6 | Wilbur J. Cohen | June 1965 | May 1968 | |||
| Vacant | May 1968 | July 1968 | ||||
| 7 | James H. McCrocklin | July 1968 | January 1969 | |||
| Vacant | January 1969 | March 1969 | Richard Nixon | |||
| 8 | John Veneman | March 1969 | January 1973 | |||
| 9 | Frank Carlucci | January 1973 | January 1975 | |||
| Gerald Ford | ||||||
| 10 | Marjorie Lynch | November 1975 | January 1977 | |||
| Gerald Ford | ||||||
| 11 | Hale Champion | January 1977 | June 1979 | |||
| Jimmy Carter |
Health and Human Services
List of Under Secretaries
| # | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | John A. Svahn | March 1983 | September 1983 | Ronald Reagan | ||
| 13 | Charles D. Baker | 1984 | 1985 | |||
| 14 | Don M. Newman | 1985 | 1989 | |||
| 15 | Constance Horner | 1989 | August 1990 | George H. W. Bush |
List of Deputy Secretaries
| # | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Constance Horner | August 1990 | 1991 | George H. W. Bush | ||
| 16 | Kevin Moley | 1991 | 1993 | |||
| 17 | Walter Broadnax | 1993 | 1996 | Bill Clinton | ||
| 18 | Kevin Thurm | 1996 | 2001 | |||
| 19 | Claude Allen | May 26, 2001 | January 22, 2005 | George W. Bush | ||
| 20 | Alex Azar | January 22, 2005 | February 4, 2007 | |||
| – | Eric Hargan (acting) | February 4, 2007 | August 5, 2007 | |||
| 21 | Tevi Troy | August 5, 2007 | January 20, 2009 | |||
| 22 | Bill Corr | May 6, 2009 | April 2015 | Barack Obama | ||
| – | Mary Wakefield (acting) | April 2015 | January 20, 2017 | |||
| – | Colleen Barros (acting) | January 20, 2017 | October 6, 2017 | Donald Trump | ||
| 23 | Eric Hargan | October 6, 2017 | January 20, 2021 | |||
| 24 | Andrea Palm | May 12, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden | ||
| 25 | Jim O'Neill | June 9, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump |
Sources
- Journal of physical education and recreation, Vol. 28, American Physical Education Association, 1957
- The inauguration of James Henry McCrocklin as fourth president of Southwest Texas State Teachers College, Southwest Texas State Teachers College, 1964
- A common thread of service, United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1970
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Richard Nixon, 1973: Containing the Public Messages, Statements, and Speeches of the President, Government Printing Office, 1999, ISBN 978-0-16-058865-5
- Bowling, Lawson (2005), Shapers of the great debate on the Great Society: a biographical dictionary, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-313-31434-6
- Derthick, Martha (1979), Policymaking for social security, Brookings Institution Press, ISBN 978-0-8157-1815-4
- Kaplowitz, Craig Allan (2005), LULAC, Mexican Americans, and national policy, Texas A&M University Press, ISBN 978-1-58544-388-8
- Mjagkij, Nina (2003), Portraits of African American life since 1865, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-0-8420-2967-4
- Mossman, Jennifer (2001), Almanac of Famous People: A Comprehensive Reference Guide to More than 33,000 Famous and Infamous Newsmakers from Biblical Times to the Present, Vol. 1, Gale Research Co., ISBN 978-0-7876-4793-3
- O'Dea Schenken, Suzanne (1999), From suffrage to the Senate: an encyclopedia of American women in politics, Vol. 2, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-0-87436-960-1
- San Migel, Guadalupe (2004), Contested policy: the Rise and Fall of Federal Bilingual Education in the United States, 1960–2001, University of North Texas Press, ISBN 978-1-57441-171-3
- Smith, Jessie Carney (1996), Notable Black American women, Book II, VNR AG, ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2
- Smith, W. Thomas (2003), Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-0-8160-4666-9
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