Not surprisingly, Jim O'Neill, the Silicon Valley tech investor and recent HHS deputy secretary under Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the Trump Administration has named to be acting CDC director seems to be right in the same mold as Kennedy, meaning not committed to legitimate science and a past supporter of unproven, debunked COVID treatments:

 

Who Is the New Acting C.D.C. Director?

 

...

“During the previous administration, C.D.C. lost public trust by manipulating health data to support a political narrative,” Mr. O’Neill wrote in a social media post on Friday afternoon. “The Trump administration is rebuilding trust and refocusing CDC on its core mission of keeping America safe from infectious disease.”

 

Errr... It's HHS and the Trump Admin. that have been putting on a master class lately in manipulating (and simply making up) health data....[see the cited links]😞

 

"The pick leaves the nation’s premier public health agency under the leadership of an official without medical or scientific training, and seems likely to tighten political control of the agency, critics in Congress said."

 

It's Trump and RFK Jr. Predictable. And that's why the CDC's senior professional leadership resigned en masse last week.

 

"During the Covid pandemic, he [O'Neill] indicated support for a number of unproven coronavirus treatments and preventives, including ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and vitamin D."

 

Fitting right into the RFK Jr. and Trump mold.

 

"During his [HHS] confirmation hearing in May, Mr. O’Neill described himself as a strong supporter of vaccines. But under questioning from Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Mr. O’Neill said that he thought Mr. Kennedy was “doing a great job” handling the nation’s ongoing measles outbreak. Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly spread false information about the safety of the M.M.R. vaccine, which protects children against measles.

 

Gag!

 

New York Times

https://archive.ph/8a4u0

 

 

For anyone who thought thus far in 2025 has been rough for public health and legitimate science, it looks like things ahead are going to get even worse, with the ouster of a legitimate scientist, Susan Monarez, as CDC director and her replacement with a no medical background techie political ideologue.

 

Worth noting, while Monarez was a legitimate and experienced scientist with a specialty in microbioogy, she wasn't an MD (medical doctor), and she was the first U.S. CDC director to not have an MD in more than 70 years, dating back to 1953!

 

"Monarez completed a B.S. in microbiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and then her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 2003 at the same institution.^[4] ...  and her research focused on developing technologies to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases, particularly those affecting low- and middle-income countries.

 

She lasted less than a month under the Trump administration, from her Senate confirmation in late July to her ouster last week.

 

Now we get O'Neill, who isn't an MD and isn't a scientist. But he does have this going for him, according to the NYT:

 

"Mr. O’Neill carved out a career in Silicon Valley, working closely with Peter Thiel, the billionaire and Republican megadonor. Mr. O’Neill also served as the chief executive of SENS Research Foundation, a longevity nonprofit that aimed to cure aging-related conditions.

 

Mr. O’Neill has long criticized the Food and Drug Administration as too cautious in approving drugs. He has suggested that the agency approve drugs as soon as they are demonstrated to be safe, even without data on effectiveness."

...

“Has America run out of actual health practitioners with demonstrated experience improving public health outcomes?” Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon and former Biden administration official, wrote in a social media post.

 

https://archive.ph/8a4u0#selection-721.0-721.228