Trump's team has chosen Jayantha "Jaya" Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, as the new CDC acting director. He became the third CDC director in President Trump's second term. Bhattacharya is director of the NIH, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, and a critic of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was nominated by President Trump to be director of the NIH on November 26, 2024, and confirmed by the US Senate on March 25, 2025 by a vote of 53 to 47. As director of the NIH, he oversees research into chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. He replaced Interim Director Matthew J. Memoli, who served on January 22, 2025. Bhattacharya is working with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on priorities such as Make America Healthy Again.[3][4]