Last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kennedy is the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer who ran for president in 2024 and does not have a medical or public health degree.
The following cabinet positions still need to be confirmed:
Dave Weldon, MD, has been nominated for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Weldon is a former Florida representative and a physician.
Mehmet Oz, MD, has been nominated for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Oz is a celebrity physician who lost to John Fetterman in a 2022 race to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate.
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, has been nominated for director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya is a professor of medicine at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research.
Recent Posts
Industrial Air Pollution and Newborn Hearing Screening Failure
The connection between air pollution and hearing loss has been established for over a decade, with most research focusing on adults. Studies have also shown that…
EHDI Program Eliminated
On April 1, President Trump’s administration eliminated the entire branch of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program that works with states to analyze…
Speak Up Today: Modernize Medicare Payment Policy
Congress is preparing to take action on a budget reconciliation package the week of May 5, and now is a critical time for the audiology…