Exclusive | Xavier Becerra appalled staff with offensive term for missing children while HHS secretary

Xavier Becerra disparaged migrant children as “little Juanitos and Juanitas” while leading the Biden administration’s health department, a former colleague alleges — fueling Democratic insiders’ fears about California’s would-be governor.

“I never heard a single person disparage immigrant children,” a former Biden administration official who worked with Becerra told the California Post. “He was the only person who brazenly said, ‘these little Juanitos and Juanitas.’”

Becerra’s campaign denied the allegation, calling it “an outright fabrication,” and dismissed criticism of his tenure in the Biden administration as “jealousy.”

The allegation comes as Democratic insiders question whether Becerra’s quiet campaign and thin agenda reflect a cautious strategy or an attempt to cover up the shortcomings of a weak leader.

The Post has learned that concerns about Becerra’s performance as U.S. health secretary surfaced within weeks of his taking over the department in March 2021.

The former official recalled an emotional White House Zoom call that spring, when Cabinet secretaries, senior advisers and staff were scrambling to move unaccompanied migrant children out of crowded detention facilities.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was nearly in tears as he described the conditions children were experiencing as officials struggled to clear a bottleneck in transfers to the Department of Health and Human Services, the source said.

Then attention shifted to Becerra.

“We cut to Xavier Becerra, and I can only describe it as dead-fish eyes. There was nothing there,” the official said.

“You would expect at that moment for the person responsible for the biggest humanitarian crisis to show some emotion. But no. No emotion. No response. Nothing there.”

The source said a White House participant later remarked that “it didn’t even seem like he was paying attention.” The Post was unable to reach Mayorkas for comment.

Becerra’s handling of migrant children subsequently drew national scrutiny after a 2023 New York Times investigation revealed he had pressed staff to speed up placements using an “assembly line” comparison.

The Post reported in August that HHS officials said roughly 330,000 cases involving children released during his tenure remained unresolved, including people who have since turned 18. An agency adviser also said investigators had identified more than 40 children who died after being processed by the agency.

The former Biden official said senior White House adviser Susan Rice — who did not respond to the Post’s requests for comment — regularly demanded answers during meetings on the crisis and berated Becerra in front of staff “at least once a week.” 

“Susan does not bite her tongue,” the official said. “She lost it. It was a common occurrence.”

Becerra frequently appeared to be playing catch-up, the source said.

“He didn’t seem to have a desire” to do the job, the official said.

Another former Biden administration colleague offered a one-word assessment of Becerra’s performance: “meh.”

“His resume does more justice than his political skill and acumen,” the source said.

“There is a lot to be desired as far as his leadership is concerned. I think that governing is going to be very difficult and challenging.”

Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for Becerra, fired back at the former Biden officials.

“Jealousy breeds contempt, and Becerra accomplished more in Washington than most politicians do in a lifetime,” Underland wrote in an email. 

The campaign blamed the child migrant crisis on Trump and credited Becerra with helping to create a $35 insulin cap, negotiating down prescription drug prices and helping to write and pass the Affordable Care Act.

However, two sources familiar with the process of passing the ACA scoffed at Becerra’s campaign taking credit for writing the legislation.

Becerra’s campaign also defended his gubernatorial agenda, citing proposals for two hours of free electricity a day and down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.

Doubts about Becerra have followed him back to Sacramento.

A Democratic state legislator said they were “not impressed” with his tenure as California attorney general from 2017 to 2021, saying he frequently “deferred to staff” and “didn’t take leadership positions” beyond suing the Trump administration.

The legislator predicted Becerra would become a “figurehead,” preserving the status quo at the Capitol while leaning on California Democrats’ dependable political foil: President Donald Trump.

“The first two years, you don’t want to rock the boat,” the legislator said. “And you can just go against Trump.”

Becerra’s campaign has done little to dispel those concerns. He has held few public events and rarely made himself available to reporters, while his campaign trail proposals offer few specifics about costs, deadlines or results.

“If Xavier Becerra has any vision for Californians, he hasn’t shared it,” a California Democratic political consultant told The Post.

Asked about detailed plans, the consultant replied: “There are none.”

Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and the republican challenger to Becerra, called his opponent an “empty suit” and said The Post’s reporting confirms what he’s been hearing during the race.

“California needs to wake up before it’s too late and we put the world’s fourth largest economy in the hands of a complete idiot,” Hilton said. 

“That’s not my word for him — that’s the word of people who worked side by side with him for years.”

After ex-congressman Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign collapsed in April due to sexual assault allegations, Becerra — who was polling as far back as sixth — emerged as the safe choice for Democratic Party insiders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom’s allies.

“There were too many flavors, so they chose vanilla,” the Democratic political consultant said.

Even Democrats who defended Becerra’s record have been at a loss to explain how he’ll live up to his promises to build more housing, lower the cost of living and make insurance more affordable.

“He’s been hidden and really hasn’t said much,” veteran Democratic strategist Steve Maviglio told The Post. “That’s concerning to a lot of people.”

Maviglio called Becerra “quietly effective” as attorney general and said the campaign told him it would roll out more proposals and press events in October.

“Voters deserve to know what his vision is for the state,” he said.

Paul Mitchell, a pollster and vice president of Political Data, Inc., told The Post that Democrat’s voter registration advantage suggests Becerra could win as much as 60% of the vote, which may be why his campaign has taken a low-key approach since the June primary.

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“Why waver from that strategy?” Mitchell said. “Becerra has to get ready to govern and be the next governor of the state of California. I don’t see the benefit.”

Some Democrats say Becerra’s reserved style masks an effective operator.

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation and a former assemblymember, described him as “engaged and persistent” as attorney general.

“On the things that he really cares about and wants to push, he’s going to be hands-on,” Gonzalez said.

Former Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer recalled him as “very serious and professional,” with a lawyer’s approach to assessing an issue.

“The governor’s office has tremendous power,” Glazer said, “and the tough part of the job is deciding which levers to pull to advance your agenda and manage the desires of legislators and special interests.”

But former Biden administration officials are skeptical Becerra is up to that task.

“I do not think he is qualified to be the governor,” a former colleague said. “I don’t think he’s qualified to be the boss of anything.”