The position of CDC director has been haphazardly filled over the past year. President Trump's first pick, former Florida Rep. David Weldon (R), failed to gain support in the Senate, leading to longtime federal scientist Susan Monarez, the interim director, being nominated to fill the role permanently.
Monarez was soon pushed out, and Jim O'Neill, a deputy HHS secretary, was then made the interim director, making Bhattacharya the third acting CDC director in seven months.
Former CDC physician Elizabeth Soda, who resigned late last year, told The Hill that effectively leading both agencies is a tall order, regardless of one's qualifications.
"You're asking one person to lead two very, very big agencies, right? And even if it's temporarily, I mean, I think the most experienced person — there's no way that that person can meet such two important agencies effectively at the same time," Soda said.
James Alwine, coordinating committee member of the nonprofit volunteer network Defend Public Health and professor emeritus of cancer biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, began his career at NIH.
He warned that these roles are too distinct for one person to handle concurrently.
"I don't think Jay Bhattacharya can be trusted to lead either. But I think the size of both of these organizations and the missions are different, and I think it takes a specific type of person, a single person, to do each of these jobs," said Alwine.
In an email to CDC staff on Friday, Bhattacharya laid out three principles the agency would follow under his rule: updating guidance "transparently" as new data emerges, ensuring every investigation it conducts reflects the "responsibility to the communities we serve" and strengthening internal review processes to enhance "accountability and openness."
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