President Biden Announces Key Members of his Health and Human Service, Education, and Veterans Affairs Teams

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden named several key hires to the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure will serve as the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), James Kvaal will serve as Under Secretary of Education, and Richard Sauber will serve as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As tested and experienced leaders, these new appointees will help advance President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda and build a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive nation that delivers every American a fair opportunity and an equal chance to get ahead.

The following White House announcements were made today:

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is currently Managing Director at Manatt. A former policy official who played a key role in guiding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through passage and implementation, Brooks-LaSure has more than 20 years of experience in health policy. She previously served as deputy director for policy at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and as director of coverage policy at the Department of Health & Human Services, where she led the agency’s implementation of ACA coverage and insurance reform policy provisions.

James Kvaal, Under Secretary of Education

James Kvaal is the president of the Institute for College Access & Success. He previously served as the deputy domestic policy adviser in the Obama-Biden White House, where he worked on a range of issues related to economic opportunity and education. His work on higher education included initiatives to make college tuition more affordable, protect students from unaffordable loans, and help more students graduate from college. Over the course of his career, he has also served in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. Kvaal has taught at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School.

Richard Sauber, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Dick Sauber is a skilled litigator who has tried dozens of criminal and civil fraud cases. Before entering private practice, Sauber was a federal and was appointed by President Reagan to form and lead the first multi-agency task force to concentrate on pursuing fraud in government contracts. In his career, Sauber has tried jury cases in New York, Washington, California, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, and his appellate work includes arguing cases before the Supreme Court and ten of the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Sauber is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and has served as general counsel for Freedom House and on the board of directors for Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.