Jay Bhattacharya

Rule Changes

Will oversee the new Women's Health Division

President Trump signed an executive order on October 19 creating a Women's Health Division inside the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force on women's health. The order, published in the Federal Register on October 22 as Executive Order 14437, gives NIH 90 days, until about January 17, to establish the division.

Updated Oct 25

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Serving dual leadership roles at NIH and CDC

Jay Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, publicly opposing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's pandemic response policies. Five years later, he now controls both the CDC and the National Institutes of Health—the two largest federal public health agencies—making him the most powerful health official in America outside the cabinet.

Updated May 29