What to know about the new nominees

President-elect Trump has announced his picks to lead the FDA and CDC and take on the role of surgeon general. Here's what to know:

Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and outspoken critic of parts of the U.S. medical system, is Trump's pick for FDA commissioner. He's defended RFK Jr.'s stances before. Trump says he will guide the agency to address "harmful" chemicals and pharmaceuticals to combat childhood chronic illnesses. More.

Dave Welton is the planned nominee for CDC director. The former Florida congressman is a physician who has questioned vaccine safety and pushed against abortion access. Trump has tasked him with reforming the agency — he's backed several potential changes throughout the years. More.

Janette Nesheiwat, a medical doctor and former Fox News contributor, will be nominated to be surgeon general. Nesheiwat does not have a history of criticizing vaccines. She's currently a medical director at CityMD, an urgent care network. More.

eye on fda

What this means for the FDA

Makary has criticized – sometimes with harsh language – the agency he's now slated to lead. Those criticisms picked up sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, when the physician argued the FDA wasn't moving quickly enough to authorize Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.

Makary also doesn't like remote work (paralleling many Republicans) and thinks the agency should listen more to its panels of advisory experts.

Rachel Cohrs Zhang broke down seven ways that Makary has criticized the FDA and what those mean for the agency's future priorities.

Plus: Rachel joined John Wilkerson and Katie Palmer to explain Makary's role at telehealth company Sesame, and how that intersects with the FDA's current struggle to regulate compounded weight-loss drugs.

industry intel

And industry reacts

STAT's intrepid biotech team reached out to key figures in biotech, pharma, and medical devices to find out what they think about Trump's FDA selection. They heard a certain level of optimism for Makary.

"We dodged a bullet," said one. Read on for why, and what else they're saying.

chronic disease

Inside the MAHA-verse

The 'Make America Healthy Again' movement has attracted an interesting coalition from long-term care takers to vaccine skeptics, Bernie bros to stay-at-home moms. Their differences show how Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" movement, or MAHA, has created a political home for the disaffected of various stripes, Eric Boodman and Isabella Cueto report.

Concerns about chemicals in our food are central to many MAHA adherents. There's also people taking care of family members with chronic illnesses who want clearer answers about their causes and care. Covid was a baptism for many who number among MAHA's ranks.

Beneath all of those issues lurks a disturbing sense that the health care system and its regulators don't have people's best interests at heart. To MAHA fans, financial interests are keeping government officials, scientists, and health care providers from being forthright. Eric and Isabella spoke to a number of fans and MAHA event attendees about what motivated them, and what they hope Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will do as HHS secretary. See what they had to say.

senate plans

Sen. Paul prepares for certain NIH focus

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is the incoming chair of a committee with unique power for investigations. And while its not the top health committee, Paul says he plans to use that power to investigate the origins of Covid-19 — a prospect with heavy implications for the NIH.

Paul says government officials misled the public about U.S. funding of research in Wuhan, China. He and House Republicans have looked into NIH funding of pathogen-altering research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and through grants to the EcoHealth Alliance, John writes.

Paul is weighing records requests and even subpoenas in the future. More on what he's saying.

immigration policy

Promised travel bans have scientists on guard

On the heels of Trump's victory, several universities have issued travel advisories to students, staff, and faculty that may be traveling internationally over their winter breaks.

The warnings reflect already palpable concern that Trump will make good on a campaign promise to reinstate — and expand — travel restrictions put in place during his first stint in office, Jonathan Wosen reports.

The exact nature and scope of any restrictions is for now unclear, and Trump has at times paradoxically said he'd incentivize foreign graduates to stay in the country. Yet scientists, biotech leaders, and immigration experts told STAT they fear the incoming administration will send a message to international researchers that they're not wanted here. More from Jonathan.

And: Read former HHS Secretary Tom Price on what fixes he wants to see to encourage foreign medical grads to stay in the country and help with workforce needs.

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What we're reading

Health Care's Colossus: UnitedHealth pays its own physician groups considerably more than others, driving up consumer costs and its profits, STAT
Revenge of the COVID contrarians, The Atlantic
Opinion: RFK Jr. and MAHA should champion a Marshall Plan for obesity, STAT
Long COVID patients push to see federal research refocused on treatments, NPR
Minnesota becomes first state to release report on 340B drug discount program for 'safety-net' hospitals, STAT