"We will only be successful in addressing addiction — and other illnesses — when we recognize the humanity within each of us. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, center, after he is ceremonially sworn-in in Conmy Hall at Fort Myer, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Arlington, Va. Andrew Harnik / AP

Murthy was the first Indian-American appointed to the nation’s top health post when he was

confirmed by the Senate in 2014, a year after he was nominated. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration,,” said Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Alleigh Marré in the statement. "Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps," a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services said, according to USA Today . Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, who is the current Deputy Surgeon General, will serve as the acting Surgeon General and assume leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.”

Trent-Adams, whose picture and name already were up on the surgeon general Twitter account Friday evening, has served in the Public Health Service Corps for more than 24 years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. He wrote in a Facebook post announcing his departure, “While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served.”

He continued, “For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the president to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story. I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve.”

“As my colleague Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams takes over as acting Surgeon General, know that our nation is in capable and compassionate hands,” Murthy wrote. As late as Friday morning, the Surgeon General’s Twitter account had been promoting Murthy’s work, including a “virtual field trip” he was to host on Tuesday for schools about the risks of electronic cigarettes. During her time as Deputy Surgeon General, Trent-Adams "advised regarding operations of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and communicated the best available scientific information to advance the health of the nation," reads her biography on the Surgeon General's website.
The White House dismisses U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in its continuing transition from the prior presidential administration. The current Deputy Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, will serve as the acting SG.