Alex Michael Azar II (/ˈeɪzɑːr/; born June 17, 1967) is an American attorney, businessman, lobbyist, and former pharmaceutical executive who served as the U.S. secretary of health and human services from 2018 to 2021.

He was also chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from its inception in January 2020 to February 2020, when he was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.

[9] Azar subsequently clerked for the remainder of the term for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

[14][15] George W. Bush's first HHS secretary, Tommy Thompson, said Azar played an important role in responding to the 2001 anthrax attacks, ensuring there was a vaccine ready for smallpox, and dealing with outbreaks of SARS and influenza.

[20] In 2009, the company paid $1.415 billion to settle criminal charges regarding its promotion of antipsychotic drug Zyprexa (olanzapine) for off-label uses between 1999 and 2005.

Also under Azar's watch, Eli Lilly was one of three companies accused in a class-action lawsuit of exploiting the drug pricing system to increase profits for insulin.

[27] Critics noted that Azar approved a tripling of the price of insulin while vice president of Managed Healthcare Services of Eli Lilly.

[28][29] Speaking in favor of his nomination were two former U.S. Senate majority leaders, Democrat Tom Daschle and Republican Bill Frist.

"[32] Senator Bernie Sanders said in a press release, "The nomination of Alex Azar, the former head of Eli Lilly's U.S. operations, shows that Trump was never serious about his promise to stop the pharmaceutical industry from 'getting away with murder'."

[28] Azar had additionally consulted with numerous other biopharmaceutical and health insurance corporations regarding government policy, product access, sales and marketing, pricing, reimbursement, and distribution.

[34] Azar had prolonged disputes with Seema Verma, who was Trump's administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

"[47] On January 28, 2020, Azar stated that the Trump administration had no plan to declare a public health emergency as the COVID-19 virus spread in China.

U.S. senator Rick Scott, U.S. representative Vern Buchanan, and other Republicans demanded that a public health emergency be declared as a means of budgeting necessary federal funding to deal with the potential pandemic.

[50] On February 27, U.S. representative Jimmy Gomez of California revealed that he had been contacted by a whistleblower from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who had been dispatched to deal with the arrivals of travelers exposed to the coronavirus.

[51] Azar responded to the issues raised by Gomez, saying, "Urgency does not compensate for violating isolation and quarantine protocols" and adding, "I'd want to know the full facts and would take appropriate remedial measures.

[51] On February 28, 2020, United States Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden wrote Azar to ask why employees of the HHS Administration for Children and Families were involuntarily dispatched to California to meet with quarantined travelers despite lacking expertise in the field and lacking proper information, equipment, and training.

[53] On April 25, 2020, multiple media outlets reported that the White House was weighing a plan to oust Azar due to frustrations over his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On January 28, 2020, Azar requested that the Chinese government allow a CDC expert team into their country to help them learn more about the virus.

Referring to the SARS epidemic 17 years earlier, Azar said, "I can say that the posture of the Chinese government levels of cooperation and interaction with us is completely different from what we experienced in 2003 and I want to commend them for such assistance."

Louisiana Republican senator John Kennedy asked both Azar and Chad Wolf about the fatality rate in victims.

Some Republicans joined Democrats in criticizing the funds requested and found transparency lacking with regard to a coherent strategy to contain the virus.

Another Republican, Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama, told Azar: "If you lowball something like this, you'll pay for it later.

"[67][68][69] Pennsylvania Democratic congressman Brendan Boyle asked Azar how he could defend "draconian cuts" in the CDC budget "at the same time we are facing a unique worldwide health crisis.

"[69] Two years earlier, a coalition of global health organizations opposed Trump's plans to reduce the CDC's operations in 39 of 49 countries in which it had been helping to rapidly identify and suppress outbreaks of diseases.

[69] On June 29, 2020, it was announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had agreed to buy 500,000 remdesivir treatment courses.

[71] HHS Secretary Alex Azar was quoted, and had said (in a press release) that "To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it.

Although he announced it as the customary resignation that all political appointees submit at the end of a presidential term,[87] the resignation letter included commentary urging President Trump to promote a peaceful and orderly transition to the Biden presidency in view of the storming of the U.S. Capitol the previous week.

[88][89][90][91] In 2022, Azar was co-defendant in a civil rights suit in the Ninth Circuit Court seeking to compel the CDC to publish mortality statistics in which COVID-19 was unequivocally the primary cause of death.

[13] He has previously served on the board of directors of the Healthcare Leadership Council, where he was treasurer; the National Association of Manufacturers; and the Indianapolis International Airport Authority, where he was chairman of the Human Resources Committee.

[97] Azar is a Republican and has contributed to the campaigns of Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, Orrin Hatch, Lamar Alexander, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump, according to OpenSecrets.