Youngkin Finishes Cabinet Nominations with Sec. Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Sec. Health and Human Resources

Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin completed his cabinet nominee picks on Monday with the announcement of Fauquier County Sheriff Robert Mosier to be Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, and recent Magellan of Virginia President John Littel to be Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on Virginians across the Commonwealth, and John will play a pivotal role in overseeing our efforts in protecting Virginians’ lives and livelihoods. Starting on Day One, John’s experience will be an asset as we fix our broken mental and behavioral health system, ensure Virginians have access to affordable, free-market healthcare options, and reform our healthcare safety net to save taxpayer dollars and improve healthcare outcomes,” Youngkin said in the announcement.

Littel’s selection comes as Virginia’s medical resources are being strained by COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Governor Ralph Northam announced a 30-day executive order aimed at improving hospital capacity and staffing.

Virginia is also facing other health-related problems that are exacerbated by the pandemic. The opioid crisis was a serious problem in Virginia before COVID-19, but it has gotten worse in 2020 and 2021. Virginia’s eight state-operated mental health facilities had dangerously low staffing levels in 2021, which forced the temporary closure of some of the hospitals to civil temporary detention order admissions during the summer. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner Alison Land told legislators in April that was due to years of little progress in efforts to attract staff to the high-risk, underpaid positions…. (Excerpts from the Virginia Star)