WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK — President-elect Barack Obama has asked Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be the next U.S. surgeon general, looking to a popular television personality to help provide a public face for his healthcare agenda.
Best known as a health and medicine correspondent for CNN and CBS, Gupta, 39, is a practicing neurosurgeon in Atlanta and a member of the faculty at the Emory University School of Medicine.
The surgeon general oversees some 6,000 officers in the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service. Officers work as physicians, nurses, dentists and other health professionals in various federal agencies -- including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Prisons.
Past surgeons general have wielded the most influence, however, by using the bully pulpit to focus attention on major health issues. And Gupta would come to the post with an unparalleled public profile and background as a communicator.
In 2003, while reporting on the invasion in Iraq, he was embedded with a Navy medical unit and performed brain surgery on U.S soldiers and Iraqi civilians.
More recently, Gupta -- the son of immigrants from India and Pakistan -- launched a nationwide campaign on CNN titled "Fit Nation" to highlight the dangers of obesity in children.
Obama's transition office declined to comment publicly on the offer. But Gupta confirmed on his Twitter feed for CNN on Tuesday that he had been "approached." The network, which has employed Gupta since 2001, reported that he is likely to accept the appointment.
CBS News President Sean McManus also said that he had spoken to Gupta about the offer. "If he decides to accept this job, I can't think of a better person to do it," McManus said in a statement.
Past surgeons general have been influential voices in national healthcare.
Dr. C. Everett Koop, for example, waged a high-profile campaign in the 1980s to spotlight the dangers of smoking. He also helped push the federal government to respond to the worsening AIDS crisis after years of silence from the Reagan White House.
And Dr. David Satcher, who served under Presidents Clinton and Bush, issued a ground-breaking report that highlighted the prevalence of mental illness and the stigmas attached to it.
The post also has generated substantial controversy during the last two administrations.
