The cleansing process for the Trump administration to let go of Obama holdovers in key government positions continues.
Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy was asked on Friday by the Trump administration to resign. A pleasant replacement will take over in an acting role capacity- Murthy's former deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, one of the first nurses in history to serve as surgeon general.
Admiral Trent-Adams has quickly taken over Dr.Murthy on the surgeon general's Twitter account on Friday evening. Her lovely portrait had replaced Murthy's on the agency's Facebook page as well.
Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Alleigh Marre has confirmed Dr. Murthy's resignation saying in an email statement that he was asked to go " after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump administration." Dr. Murthy will remain as a member of the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service.
Admiral Trent-Adams will be the first surgeon general who is not a doctor. Previously, Dr. Richard Carmona, both a doctor and a nurse, served as surgeon general under President George W. Bush.
The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps ( PHSCC) and serves as the leading spokesperson on public health matters in the U.S. federal government.
The Surgeon General's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General ( OSG). The position is nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the Senate.
Surgeons general are considered to possess little power and make do with little staff but generally, they can use their positions to call attention to crucial public health priorities. Dr. Murthy was controversial for years due to his stand on calling gun violence as a public health threat. The pro-gun rights group the National Rifle Association (NRA) urged the Senate in 2014 not to confirm Murthy.
The NRA strongly supported President Trump during the campaign last year and even spent heavily sponsoring television ads for him. The group believes Trump will support gun rights and uphold the Second Amendment, compared to Hillary Clinton who favors more gun regulations like fellow Democrat Barack Obama.
Admiral Trent-Adams is assuming the surgeon general post, not with lightweight credentials. She received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Maryland. She served as a nurse officer in the Army and also as a research nurse at the University of Maryland. She joined in 1992 the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service. She was also the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS bureau of the Health Resources and Service Administration before becoming a member of the surgeon general's office.
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/us/politics/surgeon-general-trump-administration.html?_r=0
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