Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a staunch critic of the COVID-19 lockdown era, will become the acting CDC Director.
Dr. Bhattacharya has been the head of the National Institute of Health under President Trump. He will hold both jobs until Trump names a permanent CDC Director.
SCOOP: Jay Bhattacharya, NIH director, will also serve as acting CDC director, per two admin officials, until Trump names a permanent director.
POTUS will nominate Jim O’Neill, who left HHS on Friday, to run National Science Foundation.https://t.co/Yr06ZsQFFI
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg (@SherylNYT) February 18, 2026
Dr. Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University and co-author of The Great Barrington Declaration, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his principled and data-driven opposition to government overreach.
The Declaration, signed by thousands of scientists and public health experts, called for an end to blanket lockdowns and emphasized “focused protection” of vulnerable populations.
Bhattacharya’s advocacy for individual freedoms and evidence-based public health strategies set him apart from the medical establishment that championed draconian mandates. For this, he faced relentless backlash, including being branded a “conspiracy theorist” and targeted by social media censorship. He was then investigated by his university.
Dr. Bhattacharya was also a co-plaintiff, along with TGP’s Jim Hoft and others, in the Murthy v. Missouri case, which was heard in front of the Supreme Court in March 2024.
The plaintiffs are still gathering evidence in this ongoing case labeled the free speech case of the century.
Here’s my interview with Dr. Bhattacharya in 2024. Watch:
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