WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — President Trump’s choice for Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on March 5, stressing the importance of addressing the country’s growing chronic disease crisis and rebuilding public trust in biomedical science.
“American health is moving in the wrong direction,” Bhattacharya said, citing increasing levels of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. He added that life expectancy had plateaued between 2012 and 2019, fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has not yet climbed back to pre-pandemic levels. If verified, he vowed to focus NIH research on reversing these trends.
A Stanford University professor and critic of lockdowns during COVID-19, Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, calling for targeted protection of vulnerable individuals while leaving society open. That position was criticized by public health experts, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and the World Health Organization, who said it would result in unnecessary deaths.
At the hearing, Bhattacharya emphasized the significance of research integrity, citing recent scandals in which flawed data had affected many studies. He contended that substandard research has stalled advances in fighting serious diseases. He also criticized former NIH leadership for squashing dissenting views, declaring, “Dissent is the very essence of science.” He vowed to create an atmosphere in which scientists would be able to challenge established theories freely.
Senators expressed concern regarding planned NIH funding and personnel reductions under the current administration. Bhattacharya noted these issues and stressed that transparency in funding appropriations was essential to sustain public trust.
The committee also addressed the recent measles outbreak in Texas, which resulted in one unvaccinated child’s death and nearly 20 hospitalizations. Bhattacharya expressed support for vaccinations against preventable diseases like measles, calling the child’s death a tragedy.
If confirmed, Bhattacharya will be in charge of the NIH’s $50 billion budget and 27 research centers, managing issues of funding priorities, pandemic preparedness, and public trust in science. The Senate Health Committee will consider his confirmation before it goes to a full Senate vote.
