Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Thursday that she has taken herself out of contention to be President-elect Joe Biden’s health secretary.
“I am not going to be president-elect Biden’s nominee for HHS secretary,” she said during a press conference on Thursday. “My focus is right here in Rhode Island, as I have said.”
Raimondo did not offer any immediate explanation for her decision to drop out, saying she had “nothing else to add on that topic.”
Her decision threatens to scramble Biden’s plans for the HHS secretary role. On Wednesday, people close to the transition told POLITICO that they viewed Raimondo as a leading contender for the job after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham fell out of favor with Biden’s camp.
Another top HHS candidate, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, is already planning to return to the surgeon general role under Biden and handle a broader portfolio that includes serving as a top medical expert and public face of the administration’s pandemic response.
Biden had been planning to roll out a slate of senior health care picks as early as Monday that included his choice for HHS secretary.
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