President-elect Donald Trump is building out his health team, announcing that he will nominate Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be Surgeon General.
Mr. Trump on Friday also nominated Dr. Mary Makary, a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins, as the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Dave Weldon, a Republican former congressman from Florida, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ms. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified medical doctor and an advocate for preventive medicine and public health. She also is a Fox News contributor, making her the latest administration official Mr. Trump has plucked from the conservative news network.
Mr. Trump has also picked former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense and Sean Duffy, who had hosted a show on Fox Business, to head the Transportation Department.
In a statement, Mr. Trump praised Dr. Nesheiwat as “a fierce advocate and strong communicator.”
“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,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
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Ms. Nesheiwat also serves as medical director at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey.
Dr. Makary, a surgeon and writer, was one of the leading medical voices opposing COVID vaccine mandates and advocating the protection from natural immunity. Mr. Trump earlier tapped longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Makary is credited with developing the Surgery Checklist, a routine for surgeons that improved patient outcomes and has been spread around the globe by the World Health Organization.
He recently published a book, Blind Spots. While doing interviews promoting the book, he spoke out against what he called “massive over-treatment” and “an epidemic of inappropriate care,” themes similar to what Mr. Kennedy has espoused.
He is also an advocate for reducing the use of antibiotics and reforming Medical Care.
The FDA is the world’s most influential drug regulator with a $7 billion budget. It is responsible for approving new treatments and ensuring they are safe and effective before entering the U.S. market, the safest and most lucrative in the world.
Dr. Weldon, a medical doctor and Army veteran, was a seven-term lawmaker. While in Congress he served on several committees, including Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor and Science. After leaving Congress in 2009, he returned to practicing medicine.
Dr. Weldon is a Fox News contributor. He had also suggested that a preservative used in vaccines had caused autism, which had been debunked by scientists.
If confirmed, Dr. Weldon will oversee a $17.3 billion agency viewed around the world as a public health model. The CDC tracks and responds to infectious disease outbreaks, including recommending licensed vaccines such as routine vaccines used in children and those given out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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