As President-elect Donald Trump fills out his administration’s leadership ranks, the life sciences ecosystem is watching closely. Trump’s nominees could significantly influence the landscape of healthcare, medical innovation, research, and public health across the U.S. and here in Colorado. Life sciences companies, researchers, and all those who are interested in public health and health innovation are eagerly awaiting clarity on how these nominees will impact regulatory frameworks, funding, and the future of health policy. 

Among the individuals who have been tapped to serve in roles in the Trump Administration are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., J.D., as Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS), Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., as Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Mehmet Oz, M.D., M.B.A., as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dave Weldon, M.D., as Director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Janette Nesheiwat, M.D., as US Surgeon General, and Lee Zeldin, J.D., as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator.  

Many say “backlash to the pandemic helped shape Trump’s health picks,” who have been described as “medical contrarians” who are a “team of opponents.” The Hill says, “Almost all have been highly critical of the agencies they would run if confirmed, and experts say the nominees represent a complete overhaul of the vision and priorities of key agencies for health care and public health.” Formal considerations of nominees by the U.S. Senate can start as soon as the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2025. 

CBSA will continue to advocate for science- and evidence-based policies and will work with the Trump Administration to protect and promote access, innovation, and public health. 

Key nominations include:  

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., J.D. – Secretary of HHS
  • Upon announcing his nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., J.D., to serve as Secretary of HHS, President-elect Trump said, “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health.” Trump emphasized that Kennedy would “end the Chronic Disease epidemic” and “Make America Great and Healthy Again!” 
  • Kennedy, the son of the former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, challenged President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination last year before running as an Independent. He terminated his presidential bid this summer after striking a deal to endorse Trump in exchange for a promise to be nominated for a health policy role in a second Trump administration. 
  • Kennedy is well-known for his vocal opposition to vaccines. During a July interview he said, “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.” He recently told Fox News that he believes vaccines cause autism. Kennedy has said he wants to fire 600 employees at NIH and replace them with 600 new people, and has pledged to immediately order a pause in drug development and infectious disease research, shifting the focus to chronic diseases. 
  • In addition, Kennedy has vowed to overhaul the CDC and FDA. He has said the nutrition department at the FDA, which is in charge of nutrition labels on food, has “to go. They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids.” Kennedy also wants to end the “FDA’s war on public health” and has called for bans or restrictions on widely used food additives, including food dye, and taken aim at ultra-processed foods. 
  • Governor Jared Polis has vocally supported Kennedy’s nomination, receiving “immediate pushback from Democrats and those in Colorado’s public health community.” Other Colorado politicians, like U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, have expressed that they are “deeply concerned about many of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health policy views, particularly regarding vaccines and the promotion of unproven treatments.” 
  • BIO, 11/14/24: “BIO Statement Regarding Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
    • BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley released the following statement: “A healthy and prosperous society is vitally important to the American people and to the world. The public health, economic security and our national security are best served by strong leadership that respects and advances science, nutrition and medicine and ensures that the United States and our allies continue to lead the world in biotechnology. Indeed, the rich tradition of ‘gold-standard scientific research’ and ‘evidence-based science’ have always been at the core of our life-saving work to prevent, control and cure disease—and to provide access to healthy food security for all. This is the mission of America’s biotechnology companies. I have every confidence that we will continue to thrive and deliver on this important mission ahead. The world cannot wait. We look forward to working closely with President-elect Trump, his incoming Administration, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to achieve these mutual goals.”
  • PhRMA, 11/14/24: “PhRMA Statement on HHS Nomination”
    • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl released the following statement on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): 
      “The men and women in our industry wake up every day focused on improving public health and treating the most devastating diseases affecting patients. Biopharmaceutical innovation has made tremendous progress in the fight against disease – dramatically improving cancer survival rates, curing hepatitis C, and eliminating devastating diseases like polio and smallpox.
      This industry is a crown jewel of the American economy, giving American patients more medicine choices than anywhere else in the world and supporting millions of high-paying, high-tech jobs around the country.
      We want to work with the Trump administration to further strengthen our innovation ecosystem and improve health care for patients.
      Our industry has long argued the U.S. must do more to address the growing epidemic of chronic disease, which is the biggest driver of health care spending. This will require a comprehensive strategy that includes focusing more on prevention and early intervention; promoting health and wellness; and developing new treatments and cures.
      Medicines only work if patients can access them. That’s why policymakers also need to address the misaligned incentives in the system that let insurers, PBMs and large hospital systems pad their profits while forcing patients to pay more than they should for their medicines.
      Finally, we must fix the flaws in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that are undermining our world-leading innovation ecosystem and have already resulted in higher premiums, fewer plan choices and more frustrating insurance denials for Medicare patients.”
  • AdvaMed, 11/15/24: “AdvaMed Statement on Trump’s Intent to Nominate Kennedy as HHS Secretary”
    • AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, released the following statement from President and CEO Scott Whitaker on President-elect Trump’s intention to nominate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: “I have no doubt Mr. Kennedy has encountered firsthand the power of medical technology in his own life and his family’s. And I look forward to sharing our story with him, about the millions of lives our technologies transform in every care setting across the country. If he is confirmed by the Senate, we look forward to working with him and his team to ensure the policy environment continues to help safe and effective medical technologies get to patients in need.” 

• Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. – Commissioner of the FDA
  • When President-elect Trump tapped Marty Makary M.D., M.P.H., to lead the FDA, Trump said, “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.”
  • Makary is a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, where he is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery. He has been a visiting professor at over 25 medical schools and is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation.
  • Earlier this year, Makary appeared alongside RFK Jr. at a Congressional roundtable on health and nutrition, where he criticized federal health agencies for not prioritizing chronic diseases and said, “the greatest perpetrator of misinformation has been the United States government with the food pyramid. We have the most overmedicated, sickest population in the world and no one is talking about root causes.” “We have poisoned our food supply.”
  • Makary is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, Unaccountable and The Price We Pay. He also serves as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where his current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease, public policy, healthcare costs, and relationship-based medicine.
  • Makary served in leadership at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
  • AdvaMed, 11/26/24: “AdvaMed Statement on President-elect Trump’s Intent to Nominate Dr. Martin Makary to Lead FDA”
    • AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, released the following statement from President and CEO Scott Whitaker on President-elect Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Dr. Martin Makary to Lead FDA: “I know that Dr. Makary, as a renowned surgeon and professor at one of the world’s top universities, understands the value of medical technologies in every health care setting. Access to the latest transformative medical technologies plays a key role in helping Americans to live longer and healthier lives. It is critical that FDA maintain the highest standards for safety and efficacy while ensuring the review process is efficient, transparent, and predictable to ensure every patient has access to the best medical technologies. We congratulate Dr. Makary on his nomination and look forward to his leadership at FDA.” 

• Mehmet Oz, M.D., M.B.A. – CMS Administrator
  • President-elect Trump has tapped the celebrity physician and TV personality Mehmet Oz, M.D., M.B.A., also known as Dr. Oz, to be CMS Administrator. Trump said, “Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.” “Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country.”
  • Oz hosted The Dr. Oz Show, a daytime television talk show, from 2009-2022. The show, which received nine daytime Emmy Awards, focused on health, wellness, and medical information. After Oz’s November 2021 announcement that he would run as a Republican for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, the show ceased production and aired its final episode.
  • Oz secured the Republican nomination for the US Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, narrowly defeating now US Senator-elect Dave McCormick in the Republican primary. Oz lost to Democrat John Fetterman by 5 points in the general election.
  • Oz, who was born to Turkish immigrants, graduated from Harvard University and received his M.D. and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career with a residency at Columbia University’s Presbyterian Medical Center, where he launched the Cardiac Complementary Care Center. 
  • AdvaMed, 11/19/24: “AdvaMed Statement on President-elect Trump’s Intent to Nominate Dr. Oz to Lead CMS”
    • AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, released the following statement from President and CEO Scott Whitaker on President-elect Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: “Dr. Oz has firsthand experience with medical technology and as a result understands the incredible impact these technologies can have in the lives of patients in need. And as a practitioner, he has also seen firsthand the negative impact a lack of access to these technologies can have on these same patients. When the best medical technology is in the hands of skilled surgeons and doctors, we can help heal the sickest patients, prevent disease progression, and restore the health of the American people. We look forward to working with Dr. Oz to strengthen access to and coverage of the transformative medical technologies, treatments, and diagnostic tests that help Americans in every corner of the country to live longer, healthier lives.” 

• Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. – Director of the NIH
  • When President-elect Trump announced Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., as his pick to direct the NIH, he wrote that Bhattacharya would work in coordination with RFK Jr. to “direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve the Health, and save lives.” “Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease.”
  • Bhattacharya is a Stanford-educated physician, scientist, and economist who is a professor of medicine, economics, and health research policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research. He directs Stanford’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging.
  • Bhattacharya’s research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on the role of government programs, biomedical innovation, and economics. Dr. Bhattacharya’s recent research focuses on the epidemiology of COVID-19 as well as an evaluation of policy responses to the epidemic. 
  • Bhattacharya was critical of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter written in 2020 calling for rollbacks to COVID-19 lockdowns. Bhattacharya was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, Murthy v. Missouri, where he argued that he was “unfairly censored” on social media by the government for his views on COVID-19.
  • Bhattacharya earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. 

• Dave Weldon, M.D. – Director of the CDC
  • Former Florida Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., has been tapped to serve as the Director of the CDC. This will be the first time the CDC Director is subject to Senate confirmation. “Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos,” Trump said in a statement. “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.”
  • Weldon practiced as a physician in Florida before running for Congress. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994 and served until 2008. While in Congress, Weldon introduced a bill that would give an independent agency within HHS responsibility for vaccine safety, removing most vaccine safety research from the CDC. He also raised concerns about the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, as well as the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil.
  • In 2012, Weldon lost in a Republican primary for US Senate. In 2024, Weldon lost in a Republican primary for the Florida House of Representatives.
  • Weldon graduated from Stony Brook University in 1978 and earned his M.D. degree at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1981. He served in the US Army from 1981-1987, and in the US Army Reserve from 1987-1992. 

• Janette Nesheiwat, M.D. – U.S. Surgeon General
  • When President-elect Trump tapped Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, M.D. to serve as the U.S. Surgeon General, he said, “Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health.” “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.”
  • Nesheiwat is a medical director for CityMD, a chain of urgent care centers across the New York City region. She was hired by Fox News at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to serve as a medical contributor.
  • Nesheiwat graduated from and completed her medical residency at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She specialized in emergency and family medicine.
  • Nesheiwat’s sister Julie served as homeland security adviser during the first Trump Administration and is married to Representative Mike Waltz of Florida, who Trump has tapped to serve as National Security Adviser. 

• Lee Zeldin, J.D. – EPA Administrator
  • President-elect Trump has tapped former Rep. Lee Zeldin, J.D., to serve as Administrator of the EPA, which has put out regulations that impact the use of ethylene oxide (EtO) for medical supply sterilization.
  • Zeldin said he planned to use his position to “restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, make the US the global leader of Artificial Intelligence advancement, and slash the red tape holding back American workers from upward economic mobility.”
  • Zeldin served in the NY State Senate from 2011-2014 and represented a Long Island-based district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015-2023. He served on the Financial Services & Foreign Affairs Committee before stepping down to run for Governor of New York in 2022. Zeldin did not serve on any committees with oversight of environmental policy while in Congress, but he was a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and Conservative Climate Caucus.
  • During his run for governor, Zeldin pledged to reverse New York’s ban on hydraulic fracturing, called for construction of more gas pipelines, and supported a suspension of the state gas tax. Zeldin lost to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul by 6 points, but earned more votes statewide than any Republican in decades.
  • Before holding public office, Zeldin served in the US Army and worked as a lawyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 

The Hill explains that four primary takeaways regarding Trump’s nominations are: 

• Largely positive reaction from GOP: Senate Republicans have shown general support for Trump’s nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite some concerns about his views on abortion and the food system. Other nominees like Dr. Oz and Dr. Dave Weldon have received enthusiastic endorsements from GOP figures such as Senators Lindsey Graham and Rick Scott, with many praising their qualifications. 
• Some Democrats speaking out, but not all: While some Democrats, like Sens. Patty Murray and Ron Wyden, have strongly criticized Kennedy and Weldon, others have largely remained silent on the nominations. Some Democrats, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have criticized Kennedy specifically for his vaccine skepticism, but have not addressed the other nominations as vocally. 
• The Make America Healthy Again agenda comes into focus: Trump’s nominees indicate a significant shift in health policy towards chronic disease prevention, with Kennedy and Weldon focusing on tackling chronic health issues over infectious diseases. However, public health experts have expressed concern, arguing that neglecting infectious diseases could be dangerous, especially given current outbreaks of diseases like bird flu and measles. 
• Vaccine skeptics: Kennedy’s and Weldon’s nomination have raised alarms among public health experts, with many fearing that their influence could lead to an anti-vaccine agenda and the purging of career scientists from key health agencies like the CDC, NIH, and FDA. 
  

Other Resources 

• Axios, 11/26/24: “How Trump’s NIH pick could upend the agency” 

• NYTimes, 12/4/24: “Eli Lilly Chief Says He Will Fight for the F.D.A., Challenging Kennedy’s Stance” 

• NYTimes, 12/13/24: “Kennedy’s Lawyer Has Asked the F.D.A. to Revoke Approval of the Polio Vaccine”