Former Biden Health and Human Services Secretary was repeatedly forced to defend his record during this weeks California gubernatorial debate, as both his Democratic and Republican opponents hammered him over a migrant children controversy, a corruption case involving his former chief of staff and allegations of mismanagement during his tenure as HHS secretary.
The attacks came during a contentious CNN primary debate that featured five Democrats and two Republicans vying to replace , with Becerra emerging as a frequent target as candidates challenged his claims of competent leadership.Â
Becerra, who has served in various elected positions for decades, touted his federal experience as a top qualification for California governor, rejected the attacks as false or politically motivated, at one point calling criticism of his HHS record a “MAGA talking point” and later dismissed the migrant children controversy as “Trump lies,” even as Democratic opponent Antonio Villaraigosa pushed back that the issue stemmed from a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigation.
“The experience we hear from Secretary Becerra didnt lead to better outcomes,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, also a Democrat running against Becerra, said early in the debate. “It led to . More fraud in our health care system.”
Becerra and his allies have denied the characterization that migrant children were “lost,” a controversy that dogged the HHS Secretary during much of his time in the Biden administration.
The controversy stemmed from the Biden administrations handling of a massive surge of unaccompanied migrant children, when officials faced pressure to move minors out of overcrowded government shelters and into the custody of adult sponsors.
A New York Times investigation published in February 2023 reported that the administration relaxed some longstanding safeguards as it sought to move children more quickly, including certain background checks and file reviews meant to protect minors from exploitation.
“If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have never become famous and rich. This is not the way you do an assembly line,” Becerra told HHS staff, according to the Times, even as HHS was beginning to peel back longstanding protections that had been in place for years.
The comment came after nearly a dozen officials within the HHS division responsible for unaccompanied migrant children raised concerns that labor trafficking was increasing and warned the system was “one that rewards individuals for making quick releases, and not one that rewards individuals for preventing unsafe releases,” according to the Times.
Meanwhile, Becerra pushed back during the debate regarding the unaccompanied minor crisis he faced, calling Mahans criticism “totally untrue” and saying it sounded like “a MAGA talking point.”
“Under my watch, more Americans gained health coverage than ever in the history of the country,” Becerra said, arguing that his tenure expanded Obamacare coverage and lowered premiums for millions of Americans.
Mahan later challenged Becerra’s claims about his record, accusing him of presiding over higher healthcare costs, worse outcomes and “” as both California attorney general and HHS secretary.
During another portion of the debate, Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, also accused Becerra of being “mired personally in a corruption scandal” involving his former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie, and campaign funds allegedly used to supplement McCluskies salary after Becerra joined the Biden administration.
“My view is that its a bit rich for Xavier to talk about following the law when he is mired personally in a corruption scandal,” Hilton said, alleging Becerras campaign account was used to supplement McCluskies salary after Becerra was tapped to serve as Bidens health secretary. Earlier in the debate, Becerra had chided GOP candidate Sheriff Ch
