The Senate confirmed health researcher Jay Bhattacharya as the new leader of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The confirmation vote was along party lines, resulting in a 53 to 47 tally, The Hill reported.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bhattacharya became widely known for his criticism of masking mandates, school closures, and other measures designed to slow the virus’s spread.
He played a key role in drafting the Great Barrington Declaration—a document signed by thousands of public health experts in late 2020—which advocated for achieving herd immunity by allowing the virus to circulate among lower-risk, younger populations while focusing protection on older, high-risk individuals.
Federal officials, including former NIH Director Francis Collins and top COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, condemned the declaration as dangerous and unethical, The Hill noted further.
The Stanford economist and physician stated that his views rendered him an outcast within the scientific community, and he has expressed his intention to lead the NIH in a way that embraces dissent, which is a cornerstone of scientific research and development.
“Dissent is the very essence of science. I will foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists — including early career scientists — can express disagreement respectfully,” Bhattacharya said during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
He is poised to lead the world’s largest funder of biomedical research. The NIH currently disburses nearly $48 billion through roughly 50,000 grants to over 300,000 researchers at 2,500 universities, hospitals, and other institutions.
The agency has been shaken by actions taken by the Trump administration, including mass staff firings, grant restrictions, and various funding freezes and cuts, The Hill’s report said. The White House has also targeted private universities, reducing their grants by $4 billion and cutting funding for initiatives addressing racial inequities and transgender care.
During his hearing, Bhattacharya acknowledged that science and public health have become politicized, with many in the public losing trust in health officials and experts.
The NIH should support science that is “replicable, reproducible, and generalizable,” Bhattacharya said during his hearing. “Unfortunately, much of modern biomedical science fails this basic test.”
He also committed to following the goal set by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reduce efforts on infectious diseases and instead focus on chronic illnesses.
“If confirmed, I will carry out President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again and committing the NIH to address the dire chronic health needs of the country with gold-standard science and innovation,” Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate on Monday voted to confirm John Phelan as the next Secretary of the Navy.
Phelan, a Florida businessman and founder of a private investment firm and a major donor to former President Trump’s campaign, was confirmed by a 62-30 vote in the full Senate. Despite having no prior military experience, Phelan secured bipartisan support for the role, The Hill reported.
While Phelan did not face direct opposition during his February 27 nomination hearing, some lawmakers voiced concerns over his lack of military service or experience managing any civilian branch of the Pentagon.
Phelan, however, contended that his private-sector background uniquely positions him to address the Navy’s persistent challenges, including failed audits, workforce issues, cost overruns, and delays in shipbuilding.
During his confirmation hearing, Phelan stated that his outside business experience would aid the Navy in urgent need of reform.
“The U.S. Navy is at a crossroads, extended deployments, inadequate maintenance, huge cost overruns, delayed shipbuilding, failed audits, subpar housing, and sadly, record high suicide rates are systemic failures that have gone unaddressed for far too long, and frankly, this is unacceptable,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, USNI News reported.
Phelan told the panel the Trump administration’s top priority for the Department of the Navy was shipbuilding, which is years behind schedule and experiencing major cost overruns, especially for submarines and large capital warships like aircraft carriers.
