26 Congressional Democrats: “Deep Concerns”

White House Domestic Policy Council Director, Susan Rice: “Idiot”

New York Times: “...the agency could not reach more than 85,000 children.” 

Homeland Security Investigations official: 

Becerra Turned a Blind Eye’ 

Sources ranging from The New York Times to fellow congressional Democrats to senior Biden administration officials all point to Xavier Becerra’s complete mismanagement of the unaccompanied minor crisis at the border. 

Statement from Steyer campaign spokesperson Kevin Liao: 

“Don’t take it from us, take it from journalists, his fellow Democrats and his cabinet secretary peers — Becerra failed migrant children.  California cannot afford this level of incompetence and failed leadership. Our state and, especially our children, deserve better.”

BACKGROUND

HHS Data Showed The Agency Lost Contact With More Than 85,000 Children, A Third Of All Migrant Children Released To Sponsors. “While H.H.S. checks on all minors by calling them a month after they begin living with their sponsors, data obtained by The Times showed that over the last two years, the agency could not reach more than 85,000 children. Overall, the agency lost immediate contact with a third of migrant children.”  [New York Times, 2/25/23]

Under Becerra’s Leadership The Government Turned A Blind Eye To Children Being Trafficked. “And H.H.S. behaves as if the migrant children who melt unseen into the country are doing just fine. ‘As the government, we’ve turned a blind eye to their trafficking,’ said Doug Gilmer, the head of the Birmingham, Ala., office of Homeland Security Investigations, a federal agency that often becomes involved with immigration cases.” [New York Times,2/25/23]

26 Congressional Democrats Wrote To Becerra Demanding To Know How He Will Stop Losing Children To Forced Labor And Trafficking. The May 2023 letter reads, “We write to voice our deep concerns about the horrendous labor exploitation of migrant children that was recently documented in an ongoing investigative series by the New York Times. The articles contain disturbing firsthand accounts of children who have suffered from forced labor, trafficking, and abuse after being released from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). These reports demand comprehensive changes to HHS policies to put an end to the exploitation of migrant children and ensure accountability for those who engage in this abhorrent practice.” [Letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, 5/25/23]

Biden “Tore Into” Becerra Over His HHS Tenure While Other Officials Warned Each Other Not To “Come To His Rescue.” According to Axios, “During one meeting when Biden was tearing into Becerra, Rice passed Mayorkas a note that read: ‘Don't save him,’ according to two people familiar with the meeting.” [Axios, 2/12/24]

Multiple Former Health Secretaries Described Becerra As “Invisible” In The Agency. According to NBC News, “Conversations with six former senior health policy officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations, as well as three people closely familiar with the agency’s activities, reveal that they are mystified about why Becerra’s leadership has been, as several of them put it, ‘invisible.’” [NBC News, 12/10/21]

Public Health Experts Called Becerra A “Major Disappointment” Nearing The End Of His Tenure At HHS. According to STAT News, “‘Certainly from a public profile point of view he’s been a major disappointment,’ said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University. ‘He’s a very prominent Latino leader, and he was well placed to really shine during Covid, monkeypox, and other health crises. He was very silent during those crises and when he did speak, he didn’t seem to have a good, enormous grasp of the medical and scientific and public health issues.’” [STAT News, 1/9/24]

A Former Bush Administration Medical Advisor Described Becerra Outright As The “Wrong Choice” And “Completely Absent.” According to Dr. Jonathan Reiner’s analysis on CNN, “The problem is that Secretary Becerra was the wrong choice for the job from the beginning. HHS is the umbrella organization for CDC, NIH, CMS, FDA, and the Public Health Service. So, basically every entity of this government that we have utilized to fight the singular pandemic of the last century is being run by somebody with no experience in health…It’s not just that he’s kept a low profile, it’s been basically that he’s been in the witness protection program. He’s been completely absent.” [CNN, 2/7/22] 

Susan Rice, Domestic Policy Council Director Was So Critical Of Becerra’s Tenure, She Resorted To Expletives. “Officials familiar with the matter alleged significant hostility between Rice and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra…Becerra was the target of especially sharp criticism, as he was on the receiving end of several expletive-laden denouncements. According to several people familiar with the matter, Rice said Becerra was a ‘b****-a**’ and privately called him an ‘idiot.’”

The GAO Labeled HHS Leadership As “High Risk” Under Becerra’s Handling Of COVID-19. According to the report, “The department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted longstanding concerns we have raised about its ability to execute its role leading federal public health and medical preparedness for, and response to, such public health emergencies. We reported in March 2021 that our ongoing and planned work may lead us to designate HHS’s leadership and coordination of public health emergencies as a high risk issue.” [Government Accountability Office, 1/2022]

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