Kellyanne Conway leading an ‘opioids cabinet,’ as she assumes more active policy role

WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, has been leading weekly meetings at the White House with officials across a dozen federal departments to develop a plan to respond to the opioid crisis and to implement recommendations from a presidentially appointed commission, she and other officials told STAT.

The “opioids cabinet,” as the group is known, is intended to help streamline efforts across the government and includes staffers from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, among other executive branch offices.

In an interview with STAT, Conway said she and other administration officials have also been urging Congress to appropriate additional funding for addiction treatment and prevention programs. She pushed back on the notion that the White House is not allocating sufficient resources to combat the opioid epidemic, citing ongoing conversations with budget