President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford physician and economist, as his nominee for the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Bhattacharya, a critic of the U.S. government’s COVID-19 response, is set to bring significant reforms to the agency, pending Senate confirmation by the Republican-controlled chamber in January.
Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social, highlighting Bhattacharya’s qualifications and plans for the future of biomedical research.
“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.
Bhattacharya’s nomination comes as part of a broader reshuffling of key health leadership positions under the incoming administration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has been a central figure in shaping the health agenda, including Bhattacharya’s selection. HHS oversees the NIH along with other health agencies.
Bhattacharya has proposed shifting the NIH’s focus toward funding innovative research and reducing the influence of entrenched career officials within the agency’s 27 institutes and centers. He has also been critical of the NIH’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, advocating for policies that prioritize personal freedoms while protecting vulnerable populations.
In 2020, Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, advocating against lockdowns in favor of targeted protections for vulnerable groups. The proposal drew criticism from public health leaders, including then-NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, who called it premature during the pre-vaccine stage of the pandemic.
Bhattacharya also accused federal agencies of suppressing dissenting opinions during the pandemic and later filed a lawsuit alleging government pressure on social media platforms to censor his views.
His criticism extended to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and played a prominent role in shaping the U.S. pandemic response. Bhattacharya has argued for scaling back the power of such officials, who he believes improperly shaped national policy.
The NIH, with a $47.3 billion budget, plays a critical role in U.S. biomedical research, funding thousands of researchers and conducting clinical trials on its Maryland campus. Bhattacharya’s plans reportedly include cutting bureaucracy and redirecting resources toward groundbreaking medical innovations.
This aligns with Kennedy’s broader vision of reshaping the NIH to prioritize cures for chronic illnesses over infectious disease research and implementing significant leadership changes within the agency.
Like other nominees in Trump’s health team—including Dr. Marty Makary for the FDA and Dr. Dave Weldon for the CDC—Bhattacharya’s appointment requires Senate confirmation. With the Senate’s Republican majority in January, his confirmation is likely to be a contentious process but may ultimately succeed.
If confirmed, Bhattacharya will oversee a critical period for the NIH as it navigates the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and faces growing scrutiny from lawmakers and the public. His leadership could mark a significant shift in the direction of U.S. biomedical research and public health policy.