Trump Picks Georgia Congressman To Lead HHS

Republican Tom Price of Georgia, has been named by President-elect Donald Trump as the Health and Human Services secretary, CBS News’ Major Garrett confirms, citing a senior transition source.

The decision is expected to be announced Tuesday morning. 

The five-term congressman hailing from the Atlanta suburbs is the chairman of the House Budget Committee. He’s an orthopedic surgeon by trade, and was an early supporter of Trump’s presidential candidacy.

Price has also been a strong advocate, like his fellow Republicans, of repealing Obamacare. Price favors expanding health savings accounts and providing tax credits for purchasing health coverage.
Trump met Monday with candidates for top Cabinet posts, including retired Gen. David Petraeus, a new contender for secretary of state. Trump is to meet Tuesday with Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who is also being considered more seriously for the diplomatic post, and Mitt Romney, who has become a symbol of the internal divisions agitating the transition team. 

Petraeus said he spent about an hour with Trump, and he praised the president-elect for showing a “great grasp of a variety of the challenges that are out there.” 

“Very good conversation and we’ll see where it goes from here,” he said. A former CIA chief, Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information relating to documents he had provided to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is heading the transition effort, teased “a number of very important announcements tomorrow” as he exited Trump Tower Monday night. 

Pence is said to be among those backing Romney for State. Romney was fiercely critical of Trump throughout the campaign but is interested in the Cabinet position, and they discussed it during a lengthy meeting earlier this month.