Meredith Lee was the Secretary of Health and Human Services under both Garrett Walker and Frank Underwood. After the assassination attempt on President Underwood, Doug Stamper approached Lee, pressuring her to put Underwood at the top of the donor list for a new liver, passing over a man named Anthony Moretti, who was on the brink of death. Lee reluctantly complied, and Underwood was given the next liver donated, from the body of a teen who committed suicide. After the President's surgery, Lee sent Doug a photograph of Anthony's wife Laura Moretti and their children to show him the faces of the family he destroyed. In a moment of generosity, Doug gave a very generous donation to the Moretti family and gradually entered into a relationship with Laura.