Trump Appoints Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford to Head the NIH
In an unexpected turn of events, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has appointed Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya as the new head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The announcement was shared on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.
As the leader of the NIH, Bhattacharya will be responsible for “directing the Nation’s Medical Research,” striving to “make important discoveries that will improve health and save lives,” according to Trump.
“Together, Jay and [Robert F. Kennedy Jr] will aim to restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research, looking into the root causes of the challenges posed by America’s health crisis, notably the chronic illnesses afflicting the population,” Trump elaborated.
In a post on X, Bhattacharya expressed his feelings about the nomination, stating that he is “honored and humbled” by the president-elect’s choice.
Bhattacharya currently serves as a health policy professor at Stanford and is a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He also heads the Stanford Center on the Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
He became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic for his outspoken criticism of social distancing measures. Notably, he was one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for a return to normal activities for most, with the exception of the medically vulnerable, arguing that the restrictions were causing more harm than good.
The declaration emphasized achieving herd immunity through natural infection, stating, “As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all—including the vulnerable—falls.” It was published in October 2020, prior to the rollout of vaccines. The document has received over 940,000 endorsements from infectious disease and public health experts globally.
On the same day, Trump announced his selection of Jim O’Neill for the role of deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. O’Neill, a biotech investor, formerly held a significant position at Mithril Capital Management, the investment firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, where vice president-elect JD Vance also served.
The appointment of Bhattacharya and O’Neill introduces more controversial figures into Trump’s health cabinet. Earlier this month, he appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a noted anti-vaccine advocate—as the head of HHS. If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will be collaborating with celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, proposed as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, alongside Marty Makary, who is in line for commissioner of the FDA.
Additionally, Trump has recently appointed Dave Weldon, a former congressman and another anti-vaccine advocate, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).