President-elect Donald Trump on Friday nominated former Republican Rep. Dave Weldon, MD, of Florida, to lead the CDC and Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat, MD, to be the nation’s next surgeon general.
Weldon for CDC Director
An army veteran and physician of 40 years, Weldon is a staunch, self-described “pro-life” Republican. Legislation he introduced more than 20 years ago outlawed human cloning. He also brokered a deal with lawmakers to bar patents on human organisms, including genetically engineered embryos.
Weldon also advocated against the removal of the feeding tube for Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman whose family battle over her vegetative state turned into a national debate.
The selection of Weldon is likely to placate some anti-abortion advocates, who have been concerned about Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime Democrat and proponent of abortion rights, as HHS secretary.
“Americans have lost trust in the CDC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have engaged in censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation,” Trump said in announcing Weldon’s nomination. “Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC.”
Weldon retired from his congressional seat in 2008, after 14 years in public office.
During his time in Washington, Weldon raised questions about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and HPV vaccines, a Politico report noted, and he suggested that questions remain about a possible association between the vaccine preservative thimerosal and autism.
In 2007, Weldon introduced a bill that would have given the responsibility of most vaccine safety research to an independent agency within HHS, removing it from the CDC. He cited “an enormous inherent conflict of interest within the CDC,” given that the agency both promotes vaccination while also assessing safety.
“If we fail to move vaccine safety to a separate independent office, safety issues will remain a low priority and public confidence in vaccines will continue to erode,” Weldon said in a statement at the time.
Earlier this year, Weldon lost in a GOP primary for a seat in the Florida Legislature.
If confirmed as CDC director, he’ll be in charge of more than 13,000 employees and nearly 13,000 other contract workers.
Nesheiwat for Surgeon General
Nesheiwat, meanwhile, will oversee 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps members if the Republican-controlled Senate approves her nomination as the surgeon general. She is a medical director for an urgent care company in New York. She appears regularly on Fox News and has expressed frequent support for Trump, sharing photos of them together on her social media pages.
“Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,” Trump said in a statement. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare.”
Trump added that Nesheiwat worked on the front lines in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic and has provided on-the-ground medical treatment during crises, including after Hurricane Katrina.
Surgeons general have the power to issue advisories, warning of public health threats in the U.S. Those advisories can influence how the government, public, and medical community respond to health crises in the country.
Nesheiwat graduated from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in 2006 and completed her residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2009.
Trump on Friday also nominated Johns Hopkins surgeon and health policy researcher Marty Makary, MD, MPH, to lead the FDA.
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