Official announcements from NIH or reputable news outlets confirming resignation or removal

Trump Picks Jay Bhattacharya as NIH Director to Work with RFK Jr. on Agency Overhaul

Nov 27, 2024, 03:42 AM

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor and health economist, to serve as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Bhattacharya, who called the COVID-19 lockdowns the 'biggest public health mistake we've ever made,' is a prominent critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration advocating for focused protection of the vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump announced that Dr. Bhattacharya will work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to 'restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research.' The NIH is the primary public funder of medical research in the United States, overseeing a budget of nearly $50 billion.