Trump Announces Picks for Top Health Positions

President-elect Donald Trump announced his selections for key leadership roles in health care policy this week, including the leaders of the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of the Surgeon General. 

Food and Drug Administration 

Trump announced Marty Makary, MD, MPH, FACS, a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, as his selection for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Makary has authored two New York Times bestsellers and served in leadership at the World Health Organization's Patient Safety Program. Makary has published more than 250 scientific articles and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Makary will succeed Robert M. Califf, MD, whose current term leading the agency began in 2022.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Trump will nominate former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon (R) to serve as the next CDC director. Weldon served in Congress from 1995 to 2009 and was a member of several influential committees, including Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, and Science. Unlike previous CDC directors, his position will require Senate confirmation due to a law that takes effect in 2025. If confirmed, he will succeed Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, who has held the position since 2023.

Surgeon General 

Trump will nominate Janette Nesheiwat, MD, a family and emergency medicine physician, to be the next surgeon general. Nesheiwat has served as a medical director at CityMD and frequently contributes as a health expert for Fox News. If confirmed by the Senate, she will succeed Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, who served as surgeon general in the Obama administration, and has been serving in his current post since 2021.