Trump’s Key Health Appointments: HHS, FDA, CDC Leadership Changes

President-elect Trump has appointed key figures for health leadership, including Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Three physicians—Dr. Marty Makary for the FDA, Dr. Dave Weldon for the CDC, and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as Surgeon General—were also nominated. However, their nominations faced changes and withdrawals.

updated May 25, 2025

President-elect Trump has been busy appointing people to his cabinet and other key leadership positions. He has chosen Robert Kennedy, Jr. to serve in his cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS is a vast department overseeing multiple areas of health and wellness with a $2.86 trillion budget for 2024.

I’m sharing an article by journalists Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa,
about three other appointees to key health positions.

Except for Kennedy, these appointees are physicians . I am not familiar with any of them. They appear to have well-established medical careers and solid credentials. I plan to explore their views more thoroughly after reading this article.

3 BRANCHES OF U.S. GOVERNMENT-legislative, executive, judicial
3 BRANCHES OF U.S. GOVERNMENT, FROM usa.gov, public domain

Trump unveils his lineup for FDA, CDC and surgeon general

Oklahoma Voice, November 25, 2024

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump will appoint three physicians for key government health roles.

Former Florida Congressman Dave Weldon will be tapped to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Marty Makary will be nominated for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat was put forward as the next Surgeon General.

All three positions require Senate confirmation.

Dr. Makary-Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices;

and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

FDA website

Trump wrote in his announcement for Makary that he would “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 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. His biography says he “has published over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards.”

“Dr. Makary served in leadership at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He received the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at over 25 medical schools.”

Makary wrote an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal in February 2021, sharing his prediction that the COVID-19 pandemic would mostly be over by April 2021.

“Some medical experts privately agreed with my prediction that there may be very little COVID-19 by April but suggested that I not talk publicly about herd immunity because people might become complacent and fail to take precautions or might decline the vaccine,” Makary wrote at the time.

“But scientists shouldn’t try to manipulate the public by hiding the truth. As we encourage everyone to get a vaccine, we also need to reopen schools and society to limit the damage of closures and prolonged isolation. Contingency planning for an open economy by April can deliver hope to those in despair and to those who have made large personal sacrifices.”

In prepared remarks to the House Select Subcommittee on the Covid Pandemic in May 2023, he wrote that

“Nothing speaks more to the intellectual dishonesty of public health leaders than their complete dismissal of natural immunity. They never talked about it.”

Trump wrote in his statement announcing Makary as his pick for FDA that he would “course-correct and refocus the Agency.”

Dr. Martin Adel Makary, was confirmed on March 25, 2025 by the U.S. Senate as the 27th Commissioner of Food and Drugs. In this role, Dr. Makary oversees the full breadth of the FDA portfolio and execution of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other applicable laws.Apr 8, 2025

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate with the World Health Organization (WHO), federal, state and local public health partners, and clinicians in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. CDC is closely monitoring the situation and working 24/7 to provide updates.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate with the World Health Organization (WHO), federal, state and local public health partners, and clinicians in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. CDC is closely monitoring the situation and working 24/7 to provide updates
credit James Gathany, public domain

Dr. Weldon-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

CDC website

Weldon was instrumental in codifying into law the “Weldon Patent Ban,” which makes a permanent prohibition on patenting human embryos, something that Trump noted in his statement.

“Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos,” Trump said in a statement.

In 2011, the ban was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in the America Invents Act, and made permanent after Weldon left Congress. His colleagues named it after him because of his advocacy on the issue.

“In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues,” Trump said in a statement.

Weldon, 71, served in Congress from 1995 until 2009, when he retired. He is a former physician and if confirmed by the Senate, will now head a roughly $17 billion agency that is tasked with responding to emerging health threats.

update

President Trump withdrew Dr.Weldon’s nomination.

As of May 21, 2025, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is Susan Monarez, PhD. She was nominated by President Trump in March 2025 and confirmed by the Senate in April 2025. 

Dr. Neshwiwat-Surgeon General

The U.S. Surgeon General is the Nation’s Doctor, providing Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.

The Surgeon General oversees the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, an elite group of over 6,000 uniformed officers who are public health professionals.

The USPHS mission is to protect, promote, and advance the health of our nation.

Trump wrote in his nomination for Nesheiwat that she “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,” Trump added. 

According to her biography, Nesheiwat graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is a double board-certified medical doctor practicing in New York.

She “brings a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you- and your family- healthy at all times,” (her website).

Nesheiwat is the medical director at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. 

update

As of May 25, 2025, Dr. Nesheiwat’s nomination has been withdrawn.

In her place is Dr.Casey Means. Dr. Means is a physician, health entrepreneur, and author who is known for her work on the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. She has also been a vocal critic of traditional medicine and has promoted alternative health treatments. 

This story is republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and X.

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How U.S. Healthcare Spending Fails Patients

The murder of a high profile healthcare executive highlights issues surrounding the U.S. healthcare system, particularly its high costs and poor outcomes. Frustrated by healthcare inefficiencies, patients and doctors criticize the profit-driven insurance industry, believing significant administrative expenses hinder patient care. It has provoked a hard look at a problem that needs a solution if we want to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

Like you, I have been following the news stories of Brian Thompson and Luigi Mangione. I can’t remember another time when an alleged killer received more understanding and sympathy than the victim. (Although it has probably happened.)

Based on what is known now, the murder was connected to one man’s occupation, healthcare insurance executive, and the other man’s grievance, healthcare cost and delivery. I am sharing this post from Minnesota Reformer, slightly edited to focus on the healthcare issue, not the crime.

This story won’t be going away anytime soon, and shouldn’t. I hope this tragedy prompts a serious review and changes in how we provide and fund healthcare in the United States.

I also believe whoever is proven to be Mr. Thompson’s killer should be brought to justice. And I want Mr Mangione to receive attention to and treatment for his obviously significant medical issues.

(photos for illustration only)

The original title of this article is

A man radicalized by statistics

by Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer
December 12, 2024

In a note he was carrying when he was arrested, Luigi Mangione paints himself as a man radicalized by statistics.

“The US has the #1 most expensive health care system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy,” wrote the alleged killer of Brian Thompson, the late CEO of Eden-Prairie-based UnitedHealthcare.

“United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but [h]as our life expectancy?”

Mangione is a scion of a rich, connected Maryland real estate family who recently withdrew from friends and family following severe medical issues. The numbers he cites are, in broad strokes, accurate.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Healthcare by the dollars

On life expectancy, the U.S. ranks somewhere in the 60s among the world’s countries, according to data from the United Nations, falling in between Panama and Estonia. Among the wealthy subset of countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, we rate 32nd out of 38.

The U.S. also spends far more on health care than any other country in the world: around $12,000 per person each year, thousands of dollars more than the next-highest spenders. 

The discrepancy between the staggering amount of health care spending and our relatively short lives has been perennial fodder for commentary and political debate: Where is all that money going?

The answer, to a significant degree, is that it’s being skimmed off by the private health insurance industry.

“The largest component of higher U.S. medical spending is the cost of health care administration,” according to an analysis by Harvard health economist David Cutler. “About one-third of health care dollars spent in the United States pays for administration.” 

Peer countries, even those that have similar systems with multiple private insurers, pay just a fraction as much.

“Whole occupations exist in U.S. medical care that are found nowhere else in the world, from medical-record coding to claim-submission specialists,” Cutler writes.

That excess spending adds up to something like half a trillion dollars each year, according to a recent analysis of Congressional Budget Office data by Matt Bruenig of the People’s Policy Project. For every $100 spent on health care, $16 goes directly to private insurance companies and another $16 goes to hospitals to cover the cost of administering care.

Only about $68 goes toward actually paying for medical services.

Under a single-payer system, on the other hand, the CBO estimates that the public insurer would need just $1.60 of that hundred bucks to cover its costs, while the hospitals would only need $11.80 to cover administration, because they no longer have to deal with the hassle of multiple private health insurers.

Under that system, $86.60 would go toward paying for care.

Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

UnitedHealth Group

As the nation’s top health insurer and the fourth-largest company by revenue, UnitedHealth Group — the parent company of UnitedHealthcare — is also the chief beneficiary of all those billions in essentially wasted spending. In 2023 the company socked away $22 billion in profits on $371 billion in total revenue, adding up to a return for investors of $25 per share.

Think of it this way: A person who owned a single $500 share of UnitedHealth Group stock at the start of the year would get rewarded, at the year’s end, with $25 of America’s health care spending, despite contributing precisely nothing to American health care.

Those profits, it should be noted, don’t simply generate themselves. UnitedHealthcare has developed a reputation for being especially ruthless in its pursuit of shareholder value. The company “relentlessly fought to reduce spending on care, even as its profits rose to record levels,” ProPublica reported last year.

A U.S. Senate committee concluded UnitedHealthcare, along with other insurers, intentionally denied critical nursing care to stroke patients in order to increase profits. The company has been accused of using rigid algorithms to determine when to cut off payments, regardless of whether or not patients still needed care. 

Thompson had been accused of dumping stock before the company alerted shareholders that UnitedHealth Group was being targeted by a federal antitrust investigation.

What happens to patients?

Virtually every American has their own horror story to tell of the Kafka-esque indignities of fighting with insurers over billing codes, prior authorizations, pre-approvals, in-network providers, and the like. This likely explains the organic outpouring of condemnation launched at the health insurance industry in the wake of Thompson’s killing, which spanned the political spectrum, even as elites of both parties scolded the vigilante apologists. 

Doctors say the delays caused by those barriers between patients and their care, which are set up largely to protect insurance company profits, can make patients sicker and in some cases kill them.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

In his manifesto, Mangione lamented that so little has been done to solve the profit-driven dysfunction of the health insurance system. “Many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: [Elisabeth] Rosenthal, [Michael] Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain,” he wrote. “It is not an issue of awareness at this point.”

The note makes no mention of any personal struggles with the insurance system, despite evidence that Mangione suffered from chronic back pain and underwent major surgery for it.

But at some point — whether driven primarily by personal experience, systemic frustration, or the sheer force of a mental breakdown — Mangione decided to take things into his own hands.

republished under Creative Commons license from

Minnesota Reformer -part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.

Exploring the HEART of Health

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you turn health challenges into health opportunities.

Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Dr. Aletha