(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday announced he is nominating Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical company executive and George W. Bush administration official, to succeed Tom Price as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
In tweeting the announcement, Trump called Azar a “star for better healthcare and lower drug prices.”
Azar previously served as HHS general counsel and deputy secretary for President George W. Bush. Following his time with the administration, he worked for pharmaceutical giant Lilly USA and became president of the company in 2012. He left the company in January.
Price resigned in September in the midst of a scandal over his use of private planes during his time as secretary.
