Transition of President
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President Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford doctor who was against lockdowns, to lead the National Institutes of Health. In this role, Dr. Bhattacharya would be in charge of overseeing a major medical research agency with a substantial budget and multiple institutes and centers.
Written by Sheryl Gay Stolberg.
Stay informed on the most recent developments in President-elect Trump’s transition process.
President-elect Donald J. Trump announced on Tuesday that he had chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford doctor and economist known for his controversial views on lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, to lead the National Institutes of Health.
"Jay and RFK Jr. will work together to improve the NIH’s medical research standards by investigating the root causes and potential solutions for major health issues in America, such as chronic illnesses and diseases," Mr. Trump stated on social media. He mentioned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH.
If approved by the Senate, Dr. Bhattacharya would be in charge of the top medical research organization in the world, which has a budget of $48 billion and includes 27 separate institutes and centers, each with their own research goals that target various diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Dr. Bhattacharya, who is not currently practicing medicine, has proposed making major changes to the N.I.H. and reducing the influence of government officials who, in his opinion, had too much influence on federal policy during the pandemic.
He is the most recent addition to a group of health officials chosen by Trump who gained attention during the pandemic and have unconventional views on medicine and public health. Experts believe that the president-elect’s health appointments indicate that changes are on the horizon for the country’s public health and biomedical field.
Dr. Bhattacharya is one of the main authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement released in 2020 suggesting that the virus should be permitted to circulate among young, healthy individuals who have a low risk of dying from it, so they can build up natural immunity. Meanwhile, efforts to prevent the virus should focus on older individuals and those who are more vulnerable.
After being introduced by a Stanford colleague, Dr. Bhattacharya shared his opinions with Alex M. Azar II, the health secretary under President Trump, through his connection with Dr. Scott Atlas. The public health community quickly criticized Dr. Bhattacharya and his colleagues, labeling them as extremists with dangerous ideas that could result in countless avoidable deaths.
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