Photo illustration: Gabriella Turrisi. Photos: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images, Jim Vondruska via Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris lacks an extensive network of health policy advisers, meaning domestic policy aides and veterans of the Obama and Biden administrations could shape the portfolio if she wins the White House.
- Here are some names to watch:
Rohini Kosoglu
- Kosoglu's name came up the most when we asked around town about important Harris health care voices. She has a background in health policy, though she does not solely focus on the area.
- Currently a policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Kosoglu served as Harris' chief of staff in the Senate and as domestic policy adviser in the vice president's office.
- Before that, she was a health policy adviser for Sen. Michael Bennet, per LegiStorm.
Asked about the campaign and health, Kosoglu told Axios that she expects a "contrast" with "people running on the other side that have a track record of trying to take down the Affordable Care Act" and signaled a focus on defending the ACA.
- "People like and depend on the Affordable Care Act," she said. "We've expanded the Affordable Care Act."
Jennifer Klein
- Klein is director of the White House Gender Policy Council, helping lead the administration's work on reproductive rights.
- That puts her in proximity to Harris, who has been an administration leader in talking about abortion rights.
- Klein worked on global women's issues in the State Department during the Obama administration, and on domestic policy for then-first lady Hillary Clinton.
Grace Landrieu
- Landrieu is policy director for the former Biden-Harris campaign, putting her at the center of current work on health policy.
- She previously worked in the White House on economic and labor issues, per her LinkedIn.
Christen Linke Young
- Young is not specifically a Harris person, but she helps lead health policy for the White House, and a Harris administration is likely to draw on Biden White House staffers to some degree.
- She is deputy assistant to the president for health and veterans affairs.
- She previously had roles in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and overseeing private insurance for CMS.
Andy Flick
- Flick has been at the center of a range of issues as the vice president's legislative affairs director.
- He has had an extensive tenure on the Hill, including as chief of staff to Rep. David Trone, who is active on opioid issues, and as executive director of the New Democrat Coalition.
