Trump administration nominates Wisconsin emergency physician Timothy Westlake to lead SAMHSA

President Trump nominated Timothy Westlake, an emergency physician from Wisconsin, to serve as assistant secretary of mental health and substance use and head of SAMHSA.

Westlake brings decades of clinical experience and a background in addiction policy, having been active in Wisconsin's efforts to address substance use disorders.

The nomination, submitted quietly to the Senate in July, follows more than a year and a half without a permanent leader for the agency, which oversees billions in funding and regulates psychiatry and addiction treatment.