 So last week we learned that Joe Biden was reportedly considering current governor of Rhode Island, Gina Romando, to be HHS Secretary. And not only that, it seemed as if, based on numerous reports, that she was actually the front-runner to be his pick. Now, the reason why this is disastrous is because she is vocally against Medicare for all. She's attacked it on numerous occasions. But more importantly, this is an individual who is a shill for the health insurance industry and the private healthcare industry. Because she chose to unilaterally use her power as governor to shield nursing homes and long-term care facilities from legal accountability. Now, why does this matter? Well, because in her state, when it comes to COVID-19, a majority of the outbreaks have come from these nursing homes and long-term care facilities. So in the event, somebody wants to investigate and subsequently sue them for incompetence or malfeasance because they are contributing to a spike in cases and deaths due to COVID-19. They should, in fact, be held legally liable for that. But she chose, after she got a phone call from lobbyists, to shield them and give them legal immunity. Completely unacceptable, completely unreasonable. I mean, someone who did this literally should not even have a job in politics. She should step down as governor. She should be shamed out of politics, permanently disqualified. So the prospect of her being HHS secretary, I mean, to me, basically worst-case scenario in terms of a Joe Biden pick. However, thankfully, for whatever reason, she announced at a press conference, according to journalist Mad Holt, that she was not in the running. Now, I don't know if she was never considered, if the reports were false, or if she withdrew, or she just was no longer in consideration after Joe Biden heard criticisms. I have no idea why she's not in the running, but what I do know is that the fact that she's not going to be HHS secretary is really good news. But the question is, what ghoul did Joe Biden choose to put in her place? Actually, he kind of chose someone who's good. I'm pleasantly surprised by who Joe Biden chose. He has chosen Javier Becerra, current California attorney general, to be HHS secretary. Now, the first thing that I ask of an HHS secretary is, what do you believe when it comes to Medicare for All? Well, you're going to be pleasantly surprised to learn what Javier's stance is on this issue. Going forward, would you personally support something like what Senator Bernie Sanders has suggested, which would be a Medicare for All plan? Oh, absolutely. I've been a supporter of Medicare for All for the 24 years that I was in Congress this year. As attorney general, I would fight for that if we had an opportunity to put that forward in the state of California, because I think what we do is we give people that certainty that they're going to be able to access a doctor or a hospital. The worst thing we used to have with situations where young families wouldn't know if they should take their children to the hospital, because it could lead to personal bankruptcy. That ended with the Affordable Care Act. We can't go back to those days. And so, absolutely, when you give people access to Medicare and talk to seniors who have their Medicare, who say, keep your hands off my Medicare, I think it would have the same effect for most Americans if they knew they could depend on something like Medicare for themselves as well. That's basically exactly what I want to hear from an HHS secretary when they're asked about Medicare for All. That's a perfect answer. Now look, there's always room for criticism and improvement. You can say he's talked more than he's actually taken action. He could have done more. But just in terms of like what my expectations were for a Joe Biden HHS pick, it was not someone as good as Javier Becerra. I mean, this is close to best case scenario when it comes to Joe Biden. I mean, he wouldn't be my choice, right? If I were the president, I would be appointing someone like Bernie Sanders or, you know, Rosanne DeMauro, the president of National Nurses United, somebody like that who's really been a firebrand when it comes to Medicare for All. But for him to select someone who supports Medicare for All and who's been pretty consistent on this issue, I'm pleasantly surprised and I feel shocked saying that. And it's not just me because even progressives like David Suarez and Andrew Perez tend to agree. And in a report for Jackman, they explain, to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Joe Biden has selected a Democrat who has touted his support for Medicare for All and previously demanded the Obama administration take tough action against the pharmaceutical industry to lower the price of prescription drugs. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Biden is nominating former congressman and current California attorney general, Javier Becerra, to run HHS. The announcement comes after Rhode Island Governor Gina Romando abruptly dropped out of consideration for the job following our report on her agreeing to healthcare lobbyist demands that she provide legal immunity to nursing home corporations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As recently as 2017, Becerra declared, I've been a supporter of Medicare for All for the 24 years that I was in Congress and he said he would fight to create such a system in California where it was considered in the legislature. As HHS Secretary, he would be in a position to grant states waivers to create Medicare for All systems. As HHS Secretary, Becerra will also be in a position to take the action on drug prices that he previously urged the Obama administration to take, though it remains unclear whether Biden would support such a move. Back in 2016, Becerra was one of the 51 House Democratic lawmakers who signed a letter calling on Barack Obama's Health and Human Services Secretary to use so-called Marchion rights to effectively rescind exclusive patents for medicines whose research and development was originally funded by government agencies. This year, Becerra was one of 34 state attorneys general to sign a letter demanding the federal government use Marchion rights to make the early onset COVID treatment remdesivir whose research and development was sponsored by the government more widely available and affordable to all. As HHS Secretary, Becerra will also be in a position to facilitate proposals to allow American pharmacists and wholesalers to import lower priced FDA approved medicines from other countries. Becerra voted for drug importation as a house lawmaker. Clinton's HHS Secretary, Donna Shalala killed a drug importation plan in 2000 after a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers passed it through Congress. So this is shocking because Javier Becerra is basically to the left of Joe Biden when it comes to certain health care issues like Medicare for All, Marchion rights, and as HHS Secretary, Javier Becerra can do a lot. Like we're not going to get Medicare for All with Javier Becerra as HHS Secretary. Let's be clear about that. But what he can do is take a lot of concrete measures, actions that would improve our health care system in the country. It's still relatively incrementally, but I mean nonetheless, with what we were expecting to get, Gino Ramondo, this is a pretty solid choice. I wouldn't have expected someone that I like to be named HHS Secretary. So it's not all bad apparently. Now it could be the case that Joe Biden is like playing 40 chess with us and he floated Gino Ramondo to, you know, make us feel relieved about Javier Becerra. Because you know, if you kind of set us up to expect someone who's a disaster, well then of course we're going to be excited to learn that someone who's less disastrous is HHS Secretary. But you know, either way, this is pretty solid. I'm happy with the pick. Again, I would have chosen someone else who's more firebrand in terms of supporting Medicare for All, but we have someone who supports Medicare for All, but at least in rhetoric, which is important in and of itself for at least shifting the Overton window when it comes to health care. But the things that he can do, the improvements that he can make as HHS Secretary and that he seems to want to make, this is a big deal. So I don't know how to say this, but good job, Joe Biden. It's just, you know, you kind of expect nothing but the worst from corporate Democrats and neoliberals. And whenever they actually do something good, it's a little bit of a shocker. It's surprising, genuinely so. Now I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch because of course we'll see how Javier Becerra actually governs as HHS Secretary. But just in terms of the pick, it's good. You know this, you know this thing, thing.