STAT+: Trump administration quietly picks Timothy Westlake to lead mental health agency
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- Timothy Westlake, a Wisconsin-based physician with decades of clinical and policy experience, was nominated on July 14 to serve as assistant secretary of mental health and substance use, which would also place him at the head of SAMHSA.
- SAMHSA has gone without a long-term leader since Trump's January 2025 inauguration — roughly 18 months without a permanent chief at an agency that controls billions of dollars in funding and regulates the practice of psychiatry and addiction medicine.
- The White House did not formally announce the pick, instead quietly including Westlake's name in a list of nominees sent to the Senate on July 14.
- Trump publicly announced his nominee for the related Office of National Drug Control Policy — former Fox News correspondent Sara Carter — via a Truth Social post in March 2025, a high-profile rollout that contrasts sharply with Westlake's low-key list-style nomination.
- Westlake's appointment requires Senate confirmation before he can assume the assistant secretary role and lead SAMHSA.
Why it matters: SAMHSA has overseen billions in mental health and addiction funding and regulated psychiatry practice for 18 months without Senate-confirmed leadership. The quiet, list-style nomination — contrasted with the public Truth Social fanfare for the related drug-czar post — suggests the administration is treating the mental health agency as low-priority housekeeping rather than a marquee policy appointment.
