In a series of announcements in late November President-elect Donald Trump shared his nominations for five of the nation's top health positions: CDC director, FDA commissioner, surgeon general, the National Institutes of Health director, and HHS deputy secretary.
Here are 44 things to know about Mr. Trump's picks and their positions on issues they would oversee in their roles:
NIH director pick: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
1. The National Institutes of Health, part of HHS, is the primary federal agency responsible for conducting and supporting medical research. The NIH comprises 27 institutes and centers, each with its own research agenda often focused on certain diseases or body systems.
The agency has a $48 billion budget, which it uses to fund research on vaccines and diseases through grants to researchers across the U.S., the Associated Press reported Nov. 26.
2. The office of the director sets policy and manages NIH programs and activities. The NIH is the world's largest funder of biomedical research, Politico reported Nov. 26.
3. Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, is a Stanford (Calif.) University professor of health policy, as well as a physician and economist. He directs Stanford's Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, according to a Nov. 26 Truth Social post from Mr. Trump.
Dr. Bhattacharya, 56, earned his medical degree from Stanford in 1997 and his PhD in economics in 2000.
4. Dr. Bhattacharya previously said former NIH leaders Anthony Fauci, MD, and Francis Collins, MD, PhD, suppressed scientific debate and research during the COVID-19 pandemic, Politico reported.
5. He co-wrote the "Great Barrington Declaration," published in October 2020, which argued that lockdowns were causing "irreparable harm," and promoted "herd immunity" with protections focused on higher-risk individuals, the Associated Press reported.
6. Dr. Bhattacharya recently endorsed Robert Kennedy Jr., whom Mr. Trump has nominated for HHS secretary, on British news and opinion site UnHerd. He argued medical officials failed during the pandemic by supporting lockdowns, school closures and mandates.
"Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," Mr. Trump said in the Nov. 26 statement.
HHS deputy secretary: Jim O'Neill
1. If confirmed, Jim O'Neill would work alongside Robert Kennedy Jr., whom Mr. Trump nominated as HHS secretary, to "oversee all operations and improve management, transparency and accountability to make America healthy again," Mr. Trump said in a Nov. 26 Truth Social post.
2. "I'm extremely honored to be nominated by Donald Trump and excited to support Robert Kennedy Jr. and the great people of HHS to make America healthy again," Mr. O'Neill said in a Nov. 26 post on X.
3. Mr. O'Neill previously served as principal associate deputy secretary at HHS. He also led FDA reforms to improve food, drug and medical device safety and helped design and launch the administration for strategic preparedness and response to improve emergency and disaster health responses.
4. After his government service, Mr. O'Neill became managing director of Clarium Capital, a global investment fund. He served as CEO of the Thiel Foundation, where he backed technology-focused nonprofits and co-founded the Thiel Fellowship, which supported careers for young entrepreneurs behind billion-dollar ventures.
5. Mr. O'Neill most recently served as CEO of SENS Research Foundation, where he advanced regenerative medicine solutions for age-specific diseases such as Alzheimer's, as well as for heart disease and cancer, Mr. Trump said in his post.
6. He was also considered for head of the FDA by Mr. Trump when he started his first term as president in 2016.
7. In a 2014 speech, Mr. O'Neill advocated for the FDA to focus solely on safety evaluation of drugs during the approval process and not to consider their efficacy, The Hill reported.
"We should reform FDA so that it's approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety and let people start using them at their own risk, but not much risk of safety," he said. "But let's prove efficacy after they've been legalized."
CDC director pick: Dr. David Weldon
1. The CDC, a federal public health agency overseen by HHS, historically tracks and responds to infectious disease outbreaks and recommends licensed vaccines, among other public health initiatives.
The agency has approximately 12,000 full-time employees and requested $9.7 billion for fiscal 2025, encompassing discretionary budget authority, Prevention and Public Health Funds, and Public Health Service Evaluation Transfers.
2. "In addition to being a medical doctor for 40 years and an Army veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues," Mr. Trump wrote in a statement posted on Truth Social on Nov. 22.
He added that Dr. Weldon would "restore the CDC to its true purpose and will work to end the chronic disease epidemic."
3. Dr. Weldon, 71, was born in Amityville, N.Y. He graduated from Stony Brook (N.Y.) University in 1978 and earned his medical degree in 1981 from the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) School of Medicine, according to USA Today.
4. After receiving his medical degree, Dr. Weldon served in the Army and the Army Reserve. He also practiced medicine in Florida after becoming a physician.
5. He served seven terms in Congress, representing Florida's 15th District, starting in 1995, according to The New York Times. In 2008, Dr. Weldon did not seek reelection for an eighth term and returned to his medical practice.
6. During his time as a representative, Dr. Weldon served on several committees, including Appropriations; Health and Human Services; Education and Labor; and Science, according to The Hill.
7. Citing "an enormous inherent conflict of interest within the CDC," Dr. Weldon in 2007 introduced the Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act, which aimed to relocate most vaccine safety research from the CDC to an independent agency within HHS. The legislation did not advance through Congress and was not made law.
8. Dr. Weldon also publicly expressed concerns about thimerosal, a mercury-based compound used in some vaccines, and its alleged link to autism, according to The New York Times. However, experts have stated that no scientific evidence supports such a link.
9. Additionally, Dr. Weldon wrote the so-called Weldon Amendment, which bars HHS from funding federal agencies, programs, or state and local governments that "discriminate" against health insurance plans, healthcare institutions, or professionals refusing to "provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions." It has been included in HHS annual spending bills since 2005.
10. In 2012, Dr. Weldon unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat. This year, he also lost a race for Florida's 32nd House of Representatives District.
11. Dr. Weldon also served as president of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, a nonprofit trade organization representing healthcare sharing ministries across the nation. These ministries, which provide an alternative to traditional health insurance, have faced criticism, including allegations of misleading people into believing they are legally obligated to cover medical claims, according to The New York Times. Dr. Weldon has stressed that member organizations were clear that they were not insurance providers and are not subject to the same regulations, The New York Times noted.
12. Currently, Dr. Weldon practices internal medicine at Health First Medical Group in Malabar, Fla.
13. Under a law passed last year, Dr. Weldon's appointment to lead the CDC requires Senate confirmation. Previously, CDC directors were appointed by the president.
FDA commissioner pick: Dr. Marty Makary
1. If confirmed, Marty Makary, MD, would lead the $7.2 billion agency responsible for regulating the nation's food, medical device and drug supply. The FDA employs more than 18,000 people.
2. Dr. Makary, 54, is a surgical oncologist at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins and chief of islet transplant surgery. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and holds a master's of public health from Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University. He is the author of several books on rising healthcare costs, patient safety issues and the pharmaceutical industry's influence over federal regulatory affairs.
3. For more than a decade, Dr. Makary has spoken out about the prevalence of medical errors in healthcare and has worked with hospitals on efforts to reduce harm.
4. During Mr. Trump's first term as president, Dr. Makary advised the administration on price transparency requirements, The New York Times and NPR reported.
5. He is a frequent commentator on Fox News, speaking on medical issues. Dr. Makary has criticized aspects of the nation's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, questioning the need for vaccine and mask mandates. He was a proponent of natural immunity, writing in a commentary piece for The Wall Street Journal in 2021 that he anticipated herd immunity would be reached by April and for COVID to largely dissipate.
6. On COVID vaccines, Dr. Markary advocated for federal authorities to focus recommendations on older patients and individuals with health issues that place them at risk for severe disease, according to Politico. In an op-ed published in the Journal in 2023, Dr. Makary criticized the Biden administration's recommendations for COVID booster shots among younger, otherwise healthy patients — a notion that has become more widely accepted among medical experts, NBC News reported.
7. "FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator," Mr. Trump wrote in a Nov. 22 announcement on Truth Social. "The Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a highly respected Johns Hopkins Surgical Oncologist and Health Policy Expert, to course correct and refocus the agency.
"He will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our nation's food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our nation's youth, so that we can fully address the childhood chronic disease epidemic."
8. Mr. Trump named Mr. Kennedy as his pick to lead HHS earlier this month. If both are confirmed to their federal roles, Mr. Kennedy would preside over Dr. Makary's work at the FDA.
9. Dr. Makary appears aligned with Mr. Kennedy's positions on addressing the prevalence of chronic diseases in the U.S., and targeting chemicals used in the food supply.
"We have the most overmedicated, sickest population in the world and no one is talking about root causes," Dr. Makary said during a congressional roundtable alongside Mr. Kennedy earlier this year. "We have poisoned our food supply."
10. The two do not appear as aligned in their views of vaccines. Mr. Kennedy, who as head of HHS could influence the FDA's decisions on new vaccines and the monitoring of existing shots, has publicly questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He has dismissed assertions that he is "anti-vaccine" and emphasized he "will not take them away." Dr. Makary has long supported immunizations, calling for a universal flu shot that would increase their effectiveness in his latest book, according to the Times.
11. Dr. Makary is chief medical officer at Sesame, a telehealth company that offers compounded weight loss drugs. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the makers of blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Zepbound, respectively, have been at odds with compounding pharmacies that make more affordable copycat versions of the drugs. The drugmakers have been lobbying the FDA to classify the drugs as too complex to safely compound.
Surgeon general pick: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat
1. The U.S. Surgeon General, also known as the nation's doctor, provides Americans with health guidance and is head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a team of more than 6,000 public health officers dedicated to advancing and protecting national health, according to the HHS website.
2. Janette Nesheiwat, MD, is a double board-certified physician who graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, according to her website. She is one of five children raised by an immigrant mother who was a nurse. Dr. Nesheiwat also worked the front lines in New York City during the pandemic and provided on-the-ground treatment following Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin, Mo., tornados. Dr. Nesheiwat is also a member of Samaritan's Purse, a 501(c)(3) charity organization, and has "provided lifesaving care during crises in Morocco, Poland and Haiti, Mr. Trump said in a Nov. 22 Truth Social post.
"Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health," Mr. Trump said. "She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives."
3. Julia Nesheiwat, PhD, is one of Dr. Nesheiwat's sisters, and served as the 10th Homeland Security adviser under Mr. Trump's first administration. She is a former Army combat veteran and diplomat, according to the National Security Institute website. Dr. Julia Nesheiwat is married to Florida Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, whom Mr. Trump on Nov. 12 picked to serve in his Cabinet as national security adviser on Nov. 12.
4. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor, a medical news correspondent and serves as a medical director at CityMD, which comprises urgent care centers in New Jersey and New York. She also previously served as a physician at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, Ark., and Northwest Medical Hospital in Bentonville, Ark., according to USA Today.
5. Dr. Nesheiwat is the author of "Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine," which shares how stories from the emergency room, medical recoveries and global missions are related to prayer, healing and service.
6. Dr. Nesheiwat was an advocate for the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, and touted how its benefits outweighed "short-lived" side effects.
7. "I am deeply honored and humbled by this nomination to serve as Surgeon General of the United States," Dr. Nesheiwat said in a Nov. 22 X post. "Thank you, Mr. President, for your trust. I pledge to work tirelessly to promote health, inspire hope, and serve our nation with dedication and compassion."