Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, has been named acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the removal of Jim O’Neill, Politico reported Wednesday.
O’Neill, who had been serving as acting CDC director while also holding the role of deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, was dismissed last week as HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. reshuffled senior leadership.
The White House plans to nominate O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation, according to administration officials cited in the report.
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Why Did HHS Restructure Its Leadership Team?
Kennedy said the management changes are intended to accelerate President Trump’s healthcare priorities and the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
As part of the restructuring, Chris Klomp, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was appointed as chief counselor at HHS and will oversee department-wide operations. Kennedy also named Kyle Diamantas and Grace Graham as senior counselors for the Food and Drug Administration and John Brooks as senior counselor for CMS. Each official maintained their current role.
Who Is Jay Bhattacharya?
Bhattacharya assumed leadership of NIH in April 2025 after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate. He previously served as a tenured professor at Stanford University, where his research focused on population aging, chronic disease and health economics.
He has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed research papers and co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration during the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration called for lifting lockdown restrictions while increasing protections for vulnerable populations.
Since taking office at NIH, Bhattacharya has emphasized shifting research priorities toward chronic disease, strengthening transparency in scientific decision-making and increasing openness to dissenting views.
NIH has also outlined plans to develop an artificial intelligence strategic plan, expand real-world data infrastructure and strengthen oversight of foreign-funded research, as part of what Bhattacharya has described as a unified approach to agency modernization.
What Does the Leadership Change Mean for Federal Health Policy?
Bhattacharya’s appointment comes following repeated leadership turnover at CDC tied to controversial vaccine policy shifts. Under Kennedy’s leadership, the agency has revised its vaccine schedule and replaced members of a key advisory panel.
Public health officials cited in Politico raised concerns about the agency’s instability and questioned whether Bhattacharya can effectively oversee both NIH and CDC responsibilities.
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