Trump announces CDC, FDA and surgeon general nominations

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In a flurry of high-profile nominations on Friday night, President-elect Donald Trump rounded out his health care team with his picks for the next director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and surgeon general. Trump nominated Dave Weldon, MD, a U.S. army veteran and former republican congressman, for CDC director, Marty Makary, MD, MPH, FACS, a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, for FDA commissioner and Janette Nesheiwat, MD, a New York medical director and Fox News contributor, is his pick for surgeon general.

They join Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, newly appointed head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in Trump’s new administration, looking to "make America healthy again."

Dave Weldon, MD, CDC director

Weldon, a physician of internal medicine, served seven consecutive terms in the House of Representatives from Florida’s 15th district, from 1995 to 2009. Weldon served in the U.S. army from 1981 through 1987 and served in the Army Reserves from 1987 through 1992. His time in the House of Representatives included work with the Committee on Appropriations and subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies.

In a Truth Social statement regarding his nomination, Trump addressed Weldon’s qualifications, saying he has been a “respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues.”

Weldon has been a longtime skeptic of vaccine safety. As a member of Congress in 2005, he supported the theory that thimerosal—a preservative compound in some vaccines—was linked to an uptick in autism cases around the world. Additionally, in 2007, Weldon introduced legislation that would move oversight of vaccine safety and research out of the hands of the CDC, to an independent agency within HHS, citing, “an enormous conflict of interest within the CDC.”

Trump wrote the following, as part of his official statement regarding the nomination: “Americans have lost trust in the CDC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have emerged 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.”

Marty Makary, MD, MPH, FACS, FDA commissioner

Martin A. Makary, is a Johns Hopkins University surgeon and professor, who practices surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Clinically, Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins and a professor of surgery and public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is a New York Times bestselling author and writes for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Several of Makary’s views align with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he will now serve under. ABC News reports that, in his published books and articles, “Makary has decried the overprescribing of drugs, the use of pesticides on foods and the undue influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators, [which are] points that Kennedy has also harped on for years.”

“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 finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social statement regarding the nomination.

During the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Makary became a popular correspondent on Fox News, among other conservative outlets, for his oftentimes contrarian views, questioning the need for masking and expressing concerns about booster vaccines in children, calling instead for herd immunity to halt the virus’ spread.

“I am confident that Dr. Makary, having dedicated his career to High-Quality, Lower-Cost Care, 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 wrote.

Janette Nesheiwat, MD, surgeon general

Nesheiwat is a family and emergency medicine physician, a Fox News medical contributor and the medical director at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. In a Truth Social statement regarding her nomination, Trump credits Nesheiwat for providing on-the-ground medical treatment in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes, in addition to being a member of Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance and Relief team, assisting during crises in Morocco, Haiti and Poland.

“Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health,” Trump wrote in his statement. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality health care and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.”

Nesheiwat’s views on vaccines differ from those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with Nesheiwat being an advocate for vaccines, calling the COVID-19 vaccine a “gift from God,” in 2021. She has also expressed her support for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, calling it “highly effective.”

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives,” wrote Trump.

Nesheiwat responded to the nomination in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “I am deeply honored and humbled by this nomination to serve as Surgeon General of the United States. 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.”