A look at who could be on the short list for Trump’s life team – Roll Call

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to impeach anti-vaccination activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his next administration with certain positions, but whoever he chooses to run the big health agencies will have a big impact on the health of the GOP. program for the next four years.

The top deals require Senate confirmation, which means Trump will also need Senate buy-in. The positions include secretary of Health and Human Services, which requires Senate confirmation; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, will need Senate confirmation starting in January 2025; Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Director of the National Institutes of Health, which require Senate confirmation.

Republican priorities are likely to include health care transparency and lowering drug costs, as well as limiting access to health care for LGBTQ people, and, possibly, limiting access to abortion. belly. This might look like rolling back Title X regulations, which are federal dollars for family planning, or Mexico City’s policy, which restricts federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide counseling. or abortion services.

It might look like rolling back laws on nondiscrimination in health care, blocking drug price negotiations or mandating nursing home staffing.

Here are some of the names mentioned for parts of Trump’s health plan:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump reiterated his commitment to include RFK Jr. in his administration during his victory speech on Tuesday, but it is unlikely that he will be chosen to lead the agency.

“He’s going to help make America great again. He’s a great guy and he really means it. He wants to do other things, and we’ll let him go at it,” Trump said. supporters at the West Palm Beach Convention Center during his victory speech Tuesday night.

In an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday morning, Kennedy said he would eliminate all FDA departments, including the Department of Nutrition, which was recently revamped as part of the agency’s efforts to create the Human Food Program.

Many experts say they think Kennedy will serve more as an informal adviser to Trump, because it would be difficult to get a majority of senators, even in the GOP-led chamber, to confirm him.

“I see someone like that as part of the Elon Musk type … someone who whispers in the ear of the administration,” said K&L Gates government affairs consultant and former RNC representative Amy Carnevale.

Joseph A. Ladapo

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is being considered to lead HHS, ABC News first reported.

Like Kennedy, Ladapo is a vaccine skeptic.

Under his leadership, Florida violated the CDC’s epidemic guidelines regarding masks and social distancing, as well as vaccination requirements for children. In October 2022, he recommended men between the ages of 18 and 39 to avoid the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines because of the increased risk of heart-related disease. The study he cited was widely criticized, and the FDA and CDC sent him a letter asking him to stop spreading disinformation.

Lapado was first nominated by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021.

After Trump’s victory, Ladapo tweeted on Wednesday that “the future of health freedom in America looked bright.”

Like Florida, it’s time to say ‘No’ to violating people’s rights, exposing citizens to harmful experimental vaccines instead of helping and confusing doctors who disagree with basic education. Light overcomes darkness,” he said.

Roger Severino

Roger Severino, former director of the HHS Office of Civil Rights under Trump and current domestic policy associate at the Heritage Foundation, wrote the HHS portion of the 2025 Plan.

Severino is one of the most vocal abortion opponents in the GOP. He has repeatedly said that the government should not treat abortion as health care and is calling for the legalization of medical abortion, the Hyde amendment and the abolition of the morning-after pill. birth control.

In Project 2025 he also urges the NIH to stop promoting “gender equality science” and to redefine the definition of sexuality so that it does not include gender identity, among other things.

Brian Blase

Brian Blase, Trump’s special assistant to the president for economic policy in the White House’s National Economic Council and currently president of the Paragon Health Institute, may return for a second administration.

In his latest email, Blase called Trump’s victory “an opportunity to build on the health care success of his first term” — specifically pointing to policies that have expanded access to health care plans. health care, corporate health plans and price transparency.

During the Biden administration, Blase has been analyzing and promoting the expansion of health savings plans. He proposed giving low-income exchange enrollees the option of receiving part of their aid as an HSA deposit instead of aid from an insurance provider.

He also argued against the Biden administration’s expansion of Medicaid during the public health emergency of COVID-19, and called for a reduction in the program’s rate for low-income and vulnerable people.

Paul Mango

Mango, a former Trump administration official and consultant at the Paragon Institute, served as deputy chief of staff from 2019 to 2021 and served as the official liaison to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Operation Warp Speed. From 2018 to 2019, Mango served as chief of staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. His institutional knowledge of the department could be seen as an asset to the incoming Trump administration.

Eric Hargan

Another alumni of the Trump administration, Eric Hargan served as deputy secretary of HHS under Trump and as acting secretary. He also served on the board of Operation Warp Speed. Hargan oversaw the establishment and launch of the Pandemic Donor Relief Fund.

Hargan was also deputy secretary of HHS under former President George W. Bush.

These days he is the founder and CEO of the Hargan Group, where he focuses on healthcare, government relations and public affairs.

Joe Grogan

Joe Grogan served as a Trump aide and director of the Domestic Policy Council. He was also a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the early days of the pandemic. But Grogan did not last the entire first term and resigned in May 2020 to join Verde Technologies.

During his time in the White House, Grogan has worked closely on efforts to reduce drug costs, prevent staggering medical bills and expand testing for COVID-19. He has been a vocal opponent of the Biden administration’s policy to have Medicare negotiate drug costs, saying it would lead to less drug innovation, and has repeatedly called for the FDA to be reformed to speed up drug testing and processing. of consent.

These days Grogan is also at Paragon Health Center where he serves as chairman of the board.

Bobby Jindal

The former Louisiana governor is now chairman of the Center for American Health, a wing of the America First Policy Center, a think tank that advises Trump. Jindal’s focus on health policy is not new: he served as deputy secretary of HHS under George W. Bush. Over the past few years, he has called for changes in health care systems, increased price transparency and advocated against single-person health care.