Trio of Doctors Nominated for CDC, FDA, Surgeon General

Former Rep Dave Weldon, MD (R, Florida); Marty Makary, MD, MPH; and Janette Nesheiwat, MD, have been nominated to fill key health care positions in President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration as head of the CDC, FDA Commissioner, and US Surgeon General, respectively. They could potentially step into these roles when Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH; Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC; and Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MDA, who currently hold the positions, leave at the conclusion of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Their selections follow in quick succession behind Trump’s fast-paced announcements to fill key positions in his new administration,¹ including the somewhat controversial picks of Robert F. Kennedy Jr as HHS secretary and Mehmet Oz, MD, to lead CMS.^2-4

Dave Weldon | Image Credit: © USA Today

CDC Director

Announcing his pick for the 21st director of the CDC,⁵ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday that Army veteran Weldon “views health as one of utmost importance.... 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.”⁶

Weldon, who was in Congress from 1995 to 2009—where he served on the Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, and Science committees⁷—again became a practicing internal medicine physician after choosing to not seek reelection in 2008. He did run for a Senate seat in 2012 and this year for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, but lost in the Republican primaries.⁸ He is a long-time critic of the CDC, and its vaccine program in particular.¹ He has proposed that vaccine safety responsibility move to an independent agency within HHS, which would mean removing that task from the purview of the CDC,⁹ and continues to champion the now-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism,¹⁰ focusing on the vaccine preservative thimerosal.¹¹ He also questions the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.¹²

As potential head of the CDC, he would serve under Kennedy, another vocal vaccine critic, at HHS.

Marty Makary, MD, MPH | Image Credit: © Johns Hopkins Medicine

FDA Commissioner

If confirmed, Makary would become the 26th FDA commissioner after Califf, who also was FDA commissioner for 2016-2017.¹³ Currently at Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he specializes in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and is a public policy researcher, professor, and chief of islet transplant surgery,¹⁴ Makary is also a former Fox News contributor and adviser at conservative think tank, The Paragon Health Institute.¹⁵

Of Makary, Trump has said he will “course-correct and refocus the agency.”¹²

Makary is a well-known critic of the public health policies instituted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the vaccine mandates of which he was a vocal opponent, and he is among the many of Trump’s nominees vowing to fix the “broken” US health care system. Among his more prominent views are overprescribing of drugs, pesticide use on foods, pharmaceutical and insurance company influence on government regulation, and herd immunity.¹⁶

He, too, would serve under Kennedy, whose nomination he supports, and work to “properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our nation's food supply and drugs and biologics.”¹⁵

Janette Nesheiwat, MD | Image Credit: © Janette Nesheiwat

Surgeon General

Another former Fox News contributor, and a former practicing physician of emergency medicine and family medicine at Washington Regional Medical Center and at Northwest Medical Hospital,¹⁷ Nesheiwat is currently medical director for City Med, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey.¹ She is also the sister-in-law to Trump’s pick for National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, and sister to Julia Nesheiwat, Trump’s Homeland Security adviser in 2020.^1,18

Trump notes that Nesheiwat “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,”¹⁸ and “will play a pivotal role in making America healthy again.”¹⁹

Contrary to Kennedy, she is an outspoke advocate for COVID-19 vaccination and, unlike Weldon, believes the MMR vaccine is highly effective, which introduces the possibility of cabinet division on vaccine mandates.²⁰

Via X, Nesheiwat stated, “I pledge to work tirelessly to promote health, inspire hope, and serve our nation with dedication and compassion.”²¹

Each of these nominees still must go through the confirmation hearing process.

References

1. Powel J. Who has Trump picked for his Cabinet? Brooke Rollins rounds out nominees. USA Today. November 24, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/24/donald-trump-cabinet-picks/76548459007/

2. Jeremias S, McCormick B. Trump selects Dr Oz as CMS administrator. AJMC^®. November 19, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.ajmc.com/view/trump-selects-dr-oz-as-cms-administrator

3. Mattina C. Trump announces RFK Jr as HHS secretary pick. AJMC. November 19, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.ajmc.com/view/trump-announces-rfk-jr-as-hhs-secretary-pick

4. Joszt L. Support and skepticism emerge as reactions to Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s HHS nomination. AJMC. November 15, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.ajmc.com/view/support-and-skepticism-emerge-as-reactions-to-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-hhs-nomination

5. Past CDC director/administrators. CDC. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/museum/history/pastdirectors.html

6. Statement from President Donald J. Trump. Truth Social. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113529510778344338

7. Ventura J. Trump selects former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon to lead CDC. The Hill. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5005746-trump-selects-former-florida-rep-dave-weldon-to-lead-cdc/

8. Berman D. Trump nominates former Space Coast Congressman Weldon to head Centers for Disease Control. Florida Today. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2024/11/22/former-brevard-congressman-weldon-nominated-by-trump-to-head-cdc/76511699007/

9. Weldon, Maloney introduce vaccine safety bill. News release. VoteSmart. April 19, 2007. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/public-statement/254572/weldon-maloney-introduce-vaccine-safety-bill

10. FAQs about ASD. CDC. November 5, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/autism/faq/index.html

11. Sun LH. Trump picks former congressman Dave Weldon of Florida to lead CDC. The Washington Post. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/22/trump-cdc-director-dave-weldon/

12. Southwick R. Trump names nominees to lead CDC, FDA, and his pick for surgeon general. Managed Healthcare Executive®. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/trump-names-cdc-nominee-former-congressman-dave-weldon-amid-flurry-of-health-picks

13. Commissioners. FDA. March 10, 2022. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-leadership-1907-today/commissioners

14. Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org/provider/martin-a-makary/2701414

15. Habeshian S. Trump names doctors to head CDC, FDA and for Surgeon General. Axios. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.axios.com/2024/11/23/trump-cdc-fda-surgeon-general-cabinet-picks

16. Perrone M, Seitz A. Trump taps a Fox News personality, a surgeon and a former Congressman to lead public health agencies. AP News. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/fda-trump-marty-makary-34424f5fefcbbc334c1983b025523aad

17. About. DrJanette.net. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.drjanette.net/about

18. Ogles J. Janette Nesheiwat chosen by Donald Trump for surgeon general. Florida Politics. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/709254-janette-nesheiwat-chosen-by-donald-trump-for-surgeon-general/

19. Ventura J. Former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat tapped as Trump’s surgeon general. The Hill. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5005739-fox-news-contributor-janette-nesheiwat-tapped-as-trumps-surgeon-general/

20. McHardy M. How Janette Nesheiwat and RFK Jr could be split on vaccines. Newsweek. November 23, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/rfk-jr-janette-nesheiwat-vaccines-trump-1990592

21. @DoctorJanette. 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 @realDonaldTrump#MAHA. November 22, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://x.com/doctorjanette/status/1860172388761240025?s=46