Trump turns to critic of COVID mandates to run NIH

Source: NPR

November 26, 2024 9:27 PM ET


President-elect Donald Trump is tapping Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health researcher, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health. "Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to the 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. Together, they will work hard to Make American Healthy Again!" Trump wrote in a statement making the announcement.

Bhattacharya, a physician and health economist whose nomination requires Senate confirmation, would take charge of an agency that employs more than 18,000 workers and funds nearly $48 billion in scientific research through nearly 50,000 grants to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities, medical schools and other institutions.

If confirmed, Bhattacharya could dramatically affect the future of medical science. The NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research. But the NIH could be among the top targets for restructuring as the next administration tries to overhaul the federal government.

While the NIH has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, Trump proposed cutting the agency's budget during his first term. The NIH came under heavy criticism from some Republicans during the pandemic. That animosity has continued, especially towards some former long-serving NIH officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 38 years, and Dr. Francis Collins, NIH director from 2009 to 2021.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/26/nx-s1-5195168/nih-bhattacharya-trump-election-2024