Biden chooses former WVa health official to serve as drug czar

President Biden plans to nominate Rahul Gupta, a former West Virginia health official, to serve as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a White House official confirmed.

Gupta served as the commissioner for the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health under two governors from 2015 to 2018 and is an ally of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). In that role, Gupta led the state’s opioid crisis response efforts and spearheaded other public health initiatives, like the neonatal abstinence syndrome birth score program meant to identify children at high risk for infant mortality.

Gupta is currently the chief medical and health officer and senior vice president at March of Dimes, a nonprofit that looks to improve the health of mothers and babies, and has been a practicing primary care physician for 25 years.

Gupta, who served on Biden’s transition team, would be the first physician to serve as the nation’s drug czar and was seen as a favorite to receive the nomination. The office, housed in the White House, is responsible for reducing substance abuse by coordinating the nation’s drug policy. 

“President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Rahul Gupta to be the first physician ever to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is another historic step in the Administration’s efforts to turn the tide of our nation’s addiction and overdose epidemic,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement. “Dr. Gupta brings firsthand experience as a medical doctor and public health official using evidence-based strategies to address the overdose epidemic in West Virginia. We hope he will be confirmed by the Senate soon.”

Manchin, a centrist Democrat, praised the news in a statement on Tuesday after The Washington Post and other outlets reported Gupta’s expected nomination.

“Dr. Gupta will bring over a decade of extensive experience combatting the drug epidemic to ONDCP – the office charged with addressing the drug epidemic that has killed over 90,000 Americans just last year,” Manchin said. 

Dr. Rahul Gupta’s nomination to serve as the Director of the @ONDCP means someone with firsthand knowledge of the opioid crisis, especially in #WV, will be coordinating the national fight against the drug epidemic that continues to ravage our nation. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/lqmKr8ysC5

— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) July 13, 2021

Stacey Stewart, President and CEO of March of Dimes, offered support for Gupta’s nomination, noting that he has in work for the nonprofit advocated for policies to prevent substance abuse with a focus on protecting pregnant women and infants. 

However, Politico reports that Biden’s choice of Gupta could disappoint some who have criticized him for not doing enough to prevent the closure of a needle exchange program in Charleston, W.Va., in 2018 during an HIV outbreak. 

The position is subject to Senate confirmation, which means that it could be months before he is confirmed to the position in the White House. The position is currently being filled in an acting capacity by Regina LaBelle. 

Updated at 5:11 p.m.