Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg
In late November, President-elect Donald Trump filled his three top health positions for his second administration: Johns Hopkins University surgeon Marty Makary was Trump’s choice for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner; Dave Weldon, former member of the US House of Representatives, was tapped as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox News contributor and one of five New York City medical directors for CityMD, a chain of urgent care centers across the region, was named the next surgeon general.
Immediately, the new appointees were met with a rash of strong reactions from assorted media outlets. Personal feelings aside, it is undeniable that Trump’s selections, if ultimately confirmed by the Senate, will usher in a sea change in the health care field, likely for the balance of the decade, if not well beyond. In the spirit of learning more about their respective backgrounds, what follows is a series of brief vignettes of America’s new health care leaders.
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Martin Makary
Makary, a nationally recognized surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins and frequent guest on Fox News, has penned over 300 scientific articles and three New York Times bestselling books largely focused on the escalating costs of health care and the dire need for greater transparency in the field. With a master's in public health from Harvard and membership in the esteemed National Academy of Medicine, Makary’s credentials are above reproach.
Dr. Makary, however, has been quite outspoken about certain matters – namely the overprescribing of drugs, application of pesticides on foods and the perceived undue influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators – that has at times garnered significant backlash.
Makary’s misgivings about the pharmaceutical industry have been particularly noteworthy as he has lamented that pharma companies have been “gaming the system” of the Orphan Drug Act, a means for ushering in treatments for rare diseases, and at times during the pandemic was a vocal critic of vaccine mandates while expressing skepticism of COVID-19 vaccinations in young children. A shift toward closer scrutiny of drug safety and efficacy under Makary’s stewardship of the FDA would mark a drastic reversal of the agency’s now decades-long commitment to speedier drug approvals.
Dave Weldon
In addition to being a US army veteran, Weldon, Trump's appointee to oversee the CDC, has a diverse professional background, having served as both a physician in Florida and member of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009. While serving 14 years in Congress, representing the 15th District of Florida, Welden was a vociferous critic of the public health agency and its vaccine program. In 2007, Weldon tried to shepherd through a bill that would have transferred responsibility for America’s vaccine safety from the CDC to an independent agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
Weldon’s proposal, which would have significantly diminished the CDC's clout, did not get past the committee stage. Meanwhile, during his time representing Florida’s 15th District, Weldon also espoused a claim that thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines, is linked to autism, and advocated for restrictions on abortion. Also of note, Weldon is the first nominee to head the CDC who will need to be confirmed by the Senate, due to a law passed in 2022 requiring the post to have such confirmation.
Janette Nesheiwat
In the early stages of the pandemic, Nesheiwat first gained national recognition as a medical contributor for Fox News, speaking not just about COVID-19, but also mpox and cancer screening tests, among other topics. However, long before her work with FOX News, Nesheiwat, who specializes in emergency and family medicine, had a prominent role in the New York City medical community as she helped preside over a network of storefront clinics to serve patients who could not readily access their PCPs.
Nesheiwat is also the author of Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine, a book described on her website as “a vivid Christian memoir” chronicling her experiences during the pandemic and after. The book is being published later this month.
As the surgeon general, aka “the nation’s doctor,” Nesheiwat would be responsible for leading thousands of public health officers and communicating critical health information to the public. Nesheiwat’s appointment was not surprising given that she has strong personal ties to Trump: her sister, Julia Nesheiwat, was a Homeland Security Adviser during the first Trump administration and is married to Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump’s selection for US National Security Adviser.
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