Trump Nominates Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Co-author of ‘Great Barrington Declaration,’ to Lead NIH
Partnering with RFK Jr. to Overhaul National Institutes of Health
U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump has named Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, as his pick to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bhattacharya will succeed Dr. Monica Bertagnolli and restructure the agency so no one bureaucrat can amass too much power, as did Dr. Anthony Fauci whose decades-long National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID) tenure shaped pandemic policies and centralized decision-making at the NIH.
The NIH oversees 27 separate institutes and manages an annual budget of nearly $48 billion. As a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it plays a critical role in funding research and setting public health priorities across the nation.
Bhattacharya is best known for his outspoken opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns and for advocating “Focused Protection,” a strategy to safeguard high-risk individuals while allowing others to build natural immunity. This perspective, outlined in the Great Barrington Declaration, contrasted with Fauci’s policies, which prioritized lockdowns and mandates.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for HHS secretary, strongly endorsed Bhattacharya’s selection:
“I’m so grateful to President Trump for this spectacular appointment. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is the ideal leader to restore NIH as the international template for gold-standard science and evidence-based medicine.”
The nomination is part of a broader effort to overhaul health institutions. Bhattacharya will work alongside RFK Jr. and Jim O’Neill, Trump’s nominee for HHS deputy secretary, to decentralize power, foster transparency, and rebuild public trust in scientific leadership.
CHD CEO Mary Holland said,
“CHD welcomes the nomination of Dr. Bhattacharya as a scientist of integrity. It is a great sign that he will now have the opportunity to lead this critical health institution.”
CHD Chief Scientific Officer Brian Hooker agreed.
“I believe Dr. Bhattacharya will be an excellent director of NIH and will lead to a complete overhaul of the agency.”
Bhattacharya has pledged to decentralize NIH authority, introduce term limits for agency leaders, and prioritize replication studies to strengthen scientific integrity. These reforms, he believes, will prevent any one individual or group from monopolizing influence over public health research.
What’s this mean for Canada?
Bhattacharya’s nomination to lead the NIH could have indirect implications for Canada, particularly in the areas of public health policy, scientific research, and international health collaborations. With a $48 billion budget and influence over more than 300,000 researchers annually, the NIH’s direction under Bhattacharya will mark a significant departure from Fauci directives. His emphasis on transparency, evidence-based policy, and open scientific debate aligns with Trump’s vision for revitalizing U.S. health systems and could inspire similar discussions in Canada.
Source: The Defender
RFK Jr.’s announcement about Bhattacharya on X
******************************************************************************************************************************
If you find value in the work we do at Children’s Health Defense Canada, please consider making a donation so we may continue to advocate for and protect our most valuable resource…our children.