The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dr. Martin A. Makary as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health, nearly completing President Trump's healthcare policy team and placing two high-profile critics of the medical establishment, especially of the national response to COVID, firmly in control of biomedical research and vaccine and drug approval for the nation.

Dr. Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya was confirmed to lead the National Institutes of Health by a 53-47 vote on strict party lines. Dr. Bhattacharya came into unintended prominence during the COVID pandemic when he co-authored the "Great Barrington Declaration." That open letter encouraged the nation to go about its life, taking all possible steps to protect the vulnerable but relying on evolutionary processes to weaken the virus as herd immunity increased; see Trump Nominates Professor Who Sounded Alarm on COVID Lockdowns—and Was Censored—to Lead NIH – RedState.

Dr. Martin A. "Marty" Makary was confirmed to lead the Food and Drug Administration on a bipartisan 56-44 vote with Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Maggie Hassan (NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (NH) voting with the Americans. Like Bhattacharya, Makary was something of a lightning rod and target for silencing during the COVID epidemic as he heretically opposed lockdowns, masks, and eventually the COVID vaccine while pointing to the dangers of vaccine-induced myocarditis and gain-of-function research; see Opponent of COVID Vaccine Mandates Appointed to Lead the Food and Drug Administration – RedState.

Dr. Bhattacharya's confirmation places the $48 billion NIH biomedical research budget and its existing research portfolio under an accomplished physician who said at his confirmation hearing that NIH's former management “oversaw a culture of cover-up, obfuscation and lack of tolerance for ideas that differed from theirs" and observed that “there’s tremendous distrust in science and medicine.” 

Dr. Makary will take charge of what many, such as myself, perceive as a broken agency engulfed in self-dealing and a servant rather than master of the pharmaceutical industry it is supposed to regulate. His $7 billion agency oversees the safety of vaccines and medicines, medical devices, the majority of the U.S. food supply, and tobacco products and seems hellbent on claiming control of everything in sight while studiously ignoring the hijinks of Big Pharma. Makary had a last-minute hiccup when the revelation that his newly appointed chief counsel had argued in favor of abortion drugs and the COVID vaccine mandate threatened to see some GOP senators bolt; see Chief Counsel for FDA Nominee Resigns After Sen. Hawley Exposes Her Pro-Abortion, Vaccine Mandate Stances – RedState,

These two confirmations put the core of Trump's healthcare team in place. Still missing are Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — these programs are a looming battleground in the upcoming fight for budget sanity — and Janette Nesheiwat to be Surgeon General and serve as the public face of Trump's policies.

Under the Biden administration we saw a deliberate attempt to use medicine and medical research as a weapon to change America’s culture and governance. Science took on the air of a fundamentalist religion where any departure from an orthodoxy, particularly in regards to COVID, was met with a ferocious counterattack that, for media outlets, could result in demonetization and deletion from Google search results. Trump’s HHS leadership promises to put that era behind us. Join RedState VIP and help continue our coverage to keep you abreast of this critical struggle. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.