Nov. 23 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump announced nominations for surgeon general, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, among others Friday. Trump has nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as U.S. Surgeon General. Nesheiwat is a medical doctor, treated thousands during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to Operation Warp Speed to fast-track a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Dave Weldon is Trump’s appointee as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Given the current chronic health crisis in our country, the CDC must step up and correct past errors to focus on the prevention of disease,” Trump said in a statement announcing Weldon’s appointment.
Weldon is an Army veteran and a former U.S. representative who served on the Labor and Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee and has 40 years of experience providing healthcare.
Trump also has appointed Dr. Marty Makary as director of the Food and Drug Administration.
Makary is a surgeon, professor at Johns Hopkins University and an author who opposed vaccine mandates. During a 2023 congressional hearing, Makary said COVID-19 was caused by a lab leak in China.
U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., is Trump’s choice for secretary of labor.
Alex Wong is Trump’s pick as principal deputy national security advisor and assistant to the president. Wong previously was part of Trump’s national security team during his first term.
Trump also nominated Sebastian Gorka as senior director for counter-terrorism and deputy assistant to the president. Gorka was a deputy assistant to Trump in 2017 and is a military and intelligence adviser. He also is a radio personality who makes frequent appearances on Fox News.
Scott Turner also is Trump’s choice for secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Turner is a former pro football player and served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Trump’s first administration.
The only Cabinet position Trump hasn’t announced is agriculture secretary. CNN reported Trump is expected to offer the job to Kelly Loeffler, who represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2020 to 2021.
There are 19 members of the Cabinet.