Brian Christine

Brian Sam Christine (born 1963 or 1964) is an American urologist and politician, and a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, who has served as the assistant secretary for health since 2025.

Christine graduated from Emory University with a Doctor of Medicine and took residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He worked at the Urology Centers of Alabama and later established his own practice in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2022, Christine unsuccessfully ran for Alabama's fifteenth Senate district in that year's election. The following year, he ran in a special election for the Jefferson County Commission, but withdrew his candidacy.

In March 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Christine to serve as the assistant secretary for health. He was confirmed by the Senate in October.

Early life and education Brian Sam Christine was born in 1963 or 1964. Christine is a descendant of Italian immigrants to the United States. His brother, Bobby, later became the judge advocate general of the United States Army. Christine graduated from Emory University with a Doctor of Medicine. He is Catholic.

Career Urology practice After graduating from Emory University, Christine took residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He joined the Urology Centers of Alabama after completing his residency. In October 2003, Christine married Kellie Bourland.

By 2017, Christine had established a urology practice in Birmingham, Alabama. The practice advertised itself as inclusive of gay and transgender men, and a medical conference biography stated that his practice specialized in erectile dysfunction in transgender men following gender-affirming surgery. However, in March 2025, he told The Wall Street Journal that he had never treated a transgender patient.

Political activities Christine is a Republican donor. In April 2022, Christine announced a campaign in that year's Alabama Senate Republican primary election for the state's fifteenth district. The following month, the incumbent senator, Dan Roberts, defeated Christine in the primary. In May 2023, Christine stated that he would run for a seat on the Jefferson County Commission vacated by the resignation of Steve Ammons. That month, he withdrew from the election and endorsed Mike Bolin, a former Alabama Supreme Court justice. Christine donated to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. The Senate voted to confirm Christine in a 51–47 vote along party lines on 8 October. The position also came with an appointment as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He was ceremonially sworn in by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on 15 December.

As the assistant secretary for health, Christine has advocated for the Department of Health and Human Services to establish an Office of Men's Health.

Views Domestic issues In his campaign for the Alabama Senate in 2022, Christine stated that he was "fiscally responsible" and advocated for libertarian conservatism. He supported school choice and opposed single-payer healthcare. Christine opposes abortion and was among several doctors who demonstrated outside the Supreme Court Building amid oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022). He supported Alabama's abortion law, which offered no exclusion for rape or incest.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Christine stated that the pandemic was used to affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. He suggested that "multinational large corporations and conglomerates", the financier George Soros, and the World Economic Forum sought to intentionally close small businesses in the pandemic. In a podcast, Christine stated that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine, but not successive booster doses. He opposed vaccine mandates. Christine compared the Biden administration's response to the pandemic to Nazi Germany. He supported a call from the conservative political activist Charlie Kirk to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Transgender issues Christine is critical of gender-affirming surgery and hormone manipulation. In 2021, he asserted that gender could not be changed in an article for Yellowhammer News, adding that doctors and nurses who practice medical techniques to conform to gender identity were going against their "conscience". Christine opposes transgender people in sports. He stated that, while he believed that gender dysphoria was a legitimate condition, it should be treated with corrective care, rather than affirming care.

Awards and decorations

Public Health Service Citation MedalPublic Health Service Regular Corps RibbonCommissioned Corps Training RibbonAssistant Secretary for Health BadgeOffice of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Badge