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NEW YORK — In a series of high-profile announcements late last week, President-elect Trump made his picks for three top health positions in the new administration.
Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary was his pick for Food and Drug Administration commissioner. He wants former Rep. Dave Weldon, a Republican from Florida, to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox News contributor, is in line to be the next surgeon general.
Trump made all three announcements on Truth Social and in press releases. Together the picks would help the incoming president shift the priorities of agencies that are linchpins in public health.
A surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, Makary's selection for the top job at the FDA is not unexpected given his work with the first Trump administration on issues like surprise medical billing. He's also made statements indicating support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" platform.
Trump's pick for the CDC, Weldon, is a physician, Army veteran and Republican who served in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009.
Nesheiwat is a medical contributor for the network and author of Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine, a book described on her website as "a vivid Christian memoir" that recounts her experiences during the pandemic and after.
