On November 27, US President-elect Trump nominated the next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and his healthcare team has officially taken shape. Republican senators generally accepted Trump’s selections for his healthcare team, while most Democrats remained silent. It is expected that these nominees will likely be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump has nominated key officials for his second-term healthcare team in less than two weeks since the election, including:
– Former prominent Democrat and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy’s uncle was a former US President, and his father served as the former Attorney General. The Kennedy family is one of the most influential families in the Democratic Party.
– Investor Jim O’Neill will serve as the Deputy Secretary of Health, under Kennedy. O’Neill has close ties to Silicon Valley tycoon and billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel is a co-founder of Paypal along with another tech billionaire and Trump’s current senior adviser, Elon Musk. O’Neill also previously served as the Chief Deputy Secretary of Health during the Bush administration.
– Former Republican federal congressman and internist Dave Weldon will head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Weldon is also a retired Army veteran.
– Oncology surgeon Marty Makary from Johns Hopkins Hospital will lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
– Cardiovascular surgeon and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz will be in charge of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
– Double-board-certified physician Janette Nesheiwat will serve as the head of the Health Department, as well as the “Medical Director” and “Chief Surgeon”. Nesheiwat is currently the Chief Medical Director of CityMD, an emergency medical care group in the New York and New Jersey area, and a part-time contributor to Fox News.
– Stanford University School of Medicine professor and health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will become the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bhattacharya holds four degrees, including a medical degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Economics.
Almost all of these nominees have faced high levels of criticism regarding the organizations they are set to lead and manage. Observers say that these nominations signal Trump’s vision and determination to thoroughly reform the American healthcare and public health systems in his second term.
Republican senators, while reserved about Kennedy’s nomination to lead the Health Department, have expressed willingness to accept the nomination. They have expressed some concerns about Kennedy’s views on abortion and the food system.
Reactions among Republicans to other potentially controversial nominees – including Dr. Oz and Dr. Weldon – have been generally positive.
Federal Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida posted on social media, “Congratulations Dr. Dave Weldon! I have no doubt you will bring exceptional skills and much-needed reform to the CDC!”
Senator Lindsey Graham congratulated on social media, saying, “Excited to hear that Dr. Oz will serve as the CMS administrator for the Trump administration. An outstanding choice.”
Senator Bill Cassidy, who may chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the next term, expressed his excitement about Dr. Oz being selected as the head of CMS.
As a practicing internist himself, Cassidy stated on social media, “For over a decade, a doctor has led CMS. I look forward to discussing his priorities. This is a great opportunity to help patients and implement conservative healthcare reforms.”
The HELP Committee has jurisdiction over healthcare organization nominations, so all these individuals will need approval from the committee before being voted on and confirmed by the Senate.
Weldon, as the nominee for CDC director, will be the first of Trump’s healthcare team nominees to undergo the Senate confirmation process.
Senator Cassidy wrote on social media, “I strongly advocate for CDC reform. I look forward to understanding Dr. Weldon’s vision for the CDC.”
Establishment Republicans like Senator Susan Collins from Maine and Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska have not commented on the nominations of Weldon, Makary, or Nesheiwat.
Collins campaigned for Dr. Oz in the 2022 Senate election. Oz lost, and his opponent, Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, now holds the Senate seat. However, Collins had expressed a preference last week for a primary care physician to manage CMS.
When Trump first announced Kennedy’s nomination, Democratic Senators Patty Murray from Washington and Ron Wyden from Oregon were among the first to criticize Kennedy.
Senator Murray, a member of the HELP Committee, stated in a release, “No one knows how far off the deep end fringe conspiracy theorists like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will take us when it comes to public health, reproductive rights, research, and innovation.”
Current Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden said Kennedy’s “bizarre views on basic scientific facts are troubling and should make any parent eager for safe schools and other public spaces worried.”
Murray also publicly opposed Weldon as CDC director, as Weldon has long held skeptical views on vaccine safety.
In a statement opposing the nomination, Senator Murray said, “We need a leader with real experience in public health, not someone who has spent years promoting misinformation about vaccines and bogus health plans. To every colleague considering this nomination, I cannot stress enough: this is not a game, this is not a consequence-free political role, it has a real impact on whether Americans can get the basic information and care needed to protect their families.”
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts also expressed skepticism about Kennedy, believing that he poses a threat to public health, scientific research, medicine, and healthcare coverage.
Warren, however, did not comment on Trump’s other nominees in this field.
Most other Democrats have remained mostly silent.
Current HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders has yet to comment on any of Trump’s healthcare team nominees.
Other Democratic members of the HELP Committee, such as Tim Kaine from Virginia and Chris Murphy from Connecticut, have also not responded.
Trump’s nominees are unlikely to receive much support from the Democratic Party, but the lack of public opposition so far may indicate that these healthcare-related nominations may not provoke intense partisan disputes during the Senate confirmation process. Thus, they are likely to be confirmed and approved by the Republican-majority Senate in the upcoming term.
Trump’s selections indicate that he will respond to Kennedy’s vision for major reform and restructuring of healthcare institutions and insurance systems.
Kennedy has pledged that under his “Make America Healthy Again” vision, he will rid these institutions of the suffocating clouds of corporate plunder. Public health experts say this signifies that chronic diseases will take precedence over infectious diseases.
Republican senators, despite their reservations about Kennedy being nominated to lead the Health Department, have expressed willingness to accept the nomination. They have expressed some concerns about Kennedy’s views on abortion and the food system.
Reactions among Republicans to other potentially controversial nominees – including Dr. Oz and Dr. Weldon – have been generally positive.