Trump names Dave Weldon for CDC director

Trump selected Dave Weldon, a medical doctor and former congressman who represented Florida in the House from 1995 to 2008, to serve as CDC director. This is the first time the role will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

"In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conversative leader on fiscal and social issues," Trump wrote in a statement, adding that Weldon would "restore the CDC to its true purpose."

"Americans have lost trust in the CDC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have engaged in censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation. Given the current Chronic Health Crisis in our Country, the CDC must step up and correct past errors to focus on the Prevention of Disease," Trump wrote.

According to STAT, Weldon has previously backed controversial and largely discredited research that linked childhood vaccines and growing rates of autism. For example, Weldon has raised concerns about a preservative thimerosal and autism, even after most scientific organizations found no connection and the ingredient had been removed from most vaccines.

In 2007, Weldon introduced a bill that would remove vaccine safety research from the scope of CDC's responsibilities and place it in an independent HHS agency. Although the bill never made it past committees that year, there have been renewed calls to restructure CDC and remove some of its authorities on infectious disease research.

During his time in Congress, Weldon also successfully passed what is now known as the "Weldon Amendment" on "rights of conscience" about abortion policy. The amendment, which has been reapproved by Congress each budget cycle, says that HHS cannot discriminate against programs or agencies that don't provide abortions when it comes to funding.

Paul Offit, a researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of the vaccine against rotavirus, said Weldon's nomination as CDC director was "unbelievable."

"When they say things like that — he's going to root out corruption, or that this sort of unholy alliance between the pharmaceutical industry and agencies like the CDC or FDA — where is that corruption? Where is the evidence for that?" Offit said. "Because all I see are people working very hard to try and get it right!"

However, Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, had a more measured response. "He's a well-trained internist. He's practiced medicine," Benjamin said. "He doesn't [seem to] have traditional public health training, but we'll learn more when he goes through Senate confirmation."

Trump names Marty Markary for FDA commissioner

Trump selected Marty Markary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon, for FDA commissioner. Makary is a close ally of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK, Jr.), Trump's pick for HHS secretary, and both are proponents of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.

"FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator," Trump wrote in a statement. "The agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a highly respected Johns Hopkins surgical oncologist and health policy expert to course-correct and refocus the agency."

Makary will "restore FDA to the Gold Standard of Scientific Research, and cut the bureaucratic red tape at the Agency to make sure Americans get the Medical Cures and Treatments they deserve," Trump added.

According to STAT, Makary rose to prominence in the early 2000s for developing a pre-operation routine called "The Surgery Checklist" to reduce surgical errors. Over the years, Makary has criticized several flaws in the U.S. healthcare system, including investigating deaths from medical errors and calling out drugmakers for taking advantage of FDA's rare disease drug program. He has also pushed for hospital price transparency and for nonprofit hospitals to pay taxes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized some of the federal government's decisions, saying that compulsory masking for children was "abusive." Although Makary has described himself as "pro-vaccine," he has opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates and questioned whether the potential risks of COVID-19 vaccines for young people, such as myocarditis, outweighed their benefits.

Makary also criticized FDA leadership for not approving drugs quickly enough during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. More recently, he appeared alongside RFK, JR., at a congressional roundtable on health and nutrition, where he criticized federal health agencies for not prioritizing chronic diseases.

"We have the most overmedicated, sickest population in the world and no one is talking about root causes," Makary said. "We have poisoned our food supply."

In response to Makary's nomination, former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he "is a reasonable pick to lead the FDA, and perhaps the least surprising or controversial of all of Trump's health picks so far."

"Unlike the situation with RFK Jr., Dr. Makary is an established surgeon and leader in health care. One may disagree with him on his views, for example, his stance on not masking children during the pandemic," said John LaMattina, former president of Pfizer Global Research and Development and board member for PureTech Health. "But at least he is someone with whom you can have meaningful scientific discussions."

Trump names Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general

Trump selected Janette Nesheiwat, a family and emergency medicine doctor, medical director for CityMD, and former Fox News contributor, as surgeon general.

"Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health," Trump said in a statement. "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."

Trump also praised Neisheiwat's work "on the front lines in New York City" during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her work amid natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornado.

In a social media post, Neisheiwat said she would "work tirelessly to promote health, inspire hope, and serve our nation with dedication and compassion."

Although some experts have said they are worried about Neisheiwat's lack of public health experience, Howard Markel, a medical historian, said that the role of surgeon general is largely "ceremonial" and less powerful than most Americans would believe.

"Still, the surgeon general can move public opinion on our national health with his or her reports and pronouncements," Markel said.

Separately, Dave Chokshi, former New York City health commissioner, said Nesheiwat "has big shoes to fill in succeeding [current U.S. Surgeon General Vivek] Murthy, a leader who spoke to healing our rifts as a nation."

"Serving as surgeon general is a weighty responsibility, rooted in the physician's oath to do no harm — and in the duty to be a clarion voice for public health," Chokshi added.

Overall response to Trump's picks

So far, the response from scientists and health experts to Trump's picks to lead the country's federal health agencies has been mixed.

Some doctors and scientists are worried that under the Trump administration, public health agencies will lose their authority, as well as a loss of scientific expertise, which could lead to worse health outcomes and an increase in preventable deaths.

"What they're saying when they make these appointments is that we don't trust the people who are there," Offit said. "I'm very, very worried about the way that this all plays out."

However, other health experts say that change was needed, especially after the public missteps the federal health agencies had during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are playing with fire with the shake-ups and choices, but at this point change is needed," said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and former professor at Harvard University. According to Mina, the agencies were often too slow and bureaucratic, with leaders who were unwilling to engage with concerns from the public. "At least there's a better chance of positive change compared to complacency and more of the same."

Although Trump's high-level choices will set the tone for the federal health agencies, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said he plans to keep a close eye on lower-level appointees since they are the ones who carry out the day-to-day work. He was also concerned about the possibility of federal scientists who work as civil servants being fired.

"Everything that we have so far points to some radical changes that are about to occur," Osterholm said. (Sun, Washington Post, 11/22; Baumgaertner/Rosenbluth, New York Times, 11/22; Ventura, The Hill, 11/22; Owermohle et al., STAT, 11/22; Jewett, New York Times, 11/22; Gardner/Pagliarulo, Healthcare Dive, 11/23; Diamond/Roubein, Washington Post¸11/22; Lawrence, STAT, 11/22; DeAngelis et al., STAT+ [subscription required], 11/23; Goldstein, New York Times, 11/23; Wilkerson, STAT, 11/22; Sink, Bloomberg/Modern Healthcare, 11/22; Associated Press/MedPage Today, 11/23; Stone, "Shots," NPR, 11/23; Anthes/Baumgaertner, New York Times, 11/23)

The 2024 elections are behind us — but the future of the healthcare policy landscape remains uncertain. Follow our coverage to learn how the new administration is approaching healthcare, how key state-level ballot initiative decisions could impact national health policy, and more.