President Joe Biden is nominating West Virginia’s former health commissioner as the nation’s top anti-drug official, tapping a doctor who served on the front lines of the nation’s opioid epidemic.
The White House said Tuesday that Dr. Rahul Gupta will be the first physician to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, also known as the “drug czar.”
The nomination drew bipartisan praise from West Virginia officials.
Republican Gov. Jim Justice said during his Tuesday COVID-19 briefing that Gupta did incredible work in West Virginia on opioids and other matters. “To have him plugged into that position can only make things better and better and better for West Virginia,” he said. “We’re really happy about that.”
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said the pick “means someone with firsthand knowledge of the opioid crisis, especially in West Virginia, will be coordinating the national fight against the drug epidemic that continues to ravage our nation. West Virginia has continued to lead the country in drug overdose rates for over 20 years. Dr. Gupta will bring over a decade of extensive experience combatting the drug epidemic to ONDCP.”
Several state Senate leaders also praised the decision.
Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, Tuesday congratulated Dr. Rahul Gupta for his nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
“This is outstanding news for West Virginia, and for the entire country,” Senate President Craig Blair said. “Dr. Gupta is a world-class advocate for public health. His leadership was critical in West Virginia’s fight against the opioid epidemic, and his guidance was critical as we developed new policies to protect and support our families who experience substance abuse disorder.”
The state Senate GOP said in its release that it unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 24 during the 2021 regular session, which urged President Biden to appoint Gupta to the role. Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, who is a physician, was the lead sponsor.
“I’m ecstatic to learn that Dr. Gupta has been nominated to lead this office,” Takubo said. “Dr. Gupta is truly a bipartisan, nonpolitical person, whose interests are pure. If he’s able to accomplish even a fraction of what he did for West Virginia in his new federal role, the United States will really be headed in a positive direction with handling the opioid epidemic.”
Senate Health chair Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, said, “Dr. Gupta is known for his expertise and approach to tackling this tremendous crisis that’s gripping both our state and our country, and that’s through science and statistics to study the big picture. His ability to study substance abuse disorder not as a single-issue problem, but a multi-layer problem with numerous causes, effects, and stages for intervention, will be critical as the United States continues to fight this epidemic into the future.”
Senate Democrats also had good things to say.
“We join with our colleagues in congratulating Dr. Rahul Gupta on his appointment to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Dr. Gupta served here in West Virginia with heartfelt sincerity and the utmost professionalism. Dr. Gupta’s selection is good news for the American people as we seek to combat the trauma of substance abuse,” said Minority Leader Senator Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier.
Gupta came to West Virginia in 2009 to lead the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. He rose to statewide prominence in 2014 during the response to the Freedom Industries chemical spill and was appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health in 2015 and served through September 2018.
He was named West Virginian of the Year in 2017. He most recently served as the chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes.
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