JUST IN: Trump Nominates Prominent Physician/COVID Activist For Fauci’s Old Job

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated prominent physician Jay Bhattacharya to serve as the next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a job that was previously held by Dr. Anthony Fauci from 1984 to 2022.

“I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday evening.

Bhattacharya met earlier this week with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH and other health agencies. The agency also awards funding grants to hundreds of thousands of researchers, oversees clinical trials and supports a variety of efforts to develop drugs and treatments.

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In addition, the NIH oversees U.S. biomedical research. This became a controversial topic during the COVID-19 pandemic due to questions over the pathogen’s origin.

Kennedy was reportedly impressed with Bhattacharya’s plans for overhauling the NIH and recommended him for the role to President-elect Trump, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Bhattacharya thanked Trump for the nomination and said he would be happy to serve in a social media post of his own. “I am honored and humbled by President @realDonaldTrump‘s nomination of me to be the next @NIH director. We will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again!” the Stanford-trained physician posted on X.

I am honored and humbled by President @realDonaldTrump's nomination of me to be the next @NIH director. We will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again! https://t.co/FrLmYznhfw

— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) November 27, 2024

Bhattacharya rose to national prominence due to his criticism of COVID-19 lockdown measures, mask-wearing, and eventually, COVID-19 vaccine efficiency. He was at one point banned from Twitter and blacklisted by a number of other social media sites due to his opinions, the vast majority of which have been completely validated.

Both Bhattacharya and Kennedy will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is set to have a three-seat Republican majority come January, in order to assume their posts.

In terms of NIH reforms, Trump’s nominee has called for a redirection of the agency’s focus by moving towards more innovating research, as well as taking away influence from career officials.

Kennedy has played a key role in selecting a number of key health officials, including Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary, who Trump selected to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Bhattacharya and Makary worked together on a blueprint for a proposed commission to investigate the nation’s COVID-19 response.

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