President-elect Trump has picked Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins’s surgeon who has espoused contrarian views about the COVID-19 pandemic, to lead the Federal Drug Administration. 

Makary is a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University and an author. He will lead Trump’s health arm under the guidance of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who was tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this week. 

“I am confident that Dr. Makary, having dedicated his career to High-Quality, Lower-Cost Care, will restore FDA to the Gold Standard of Scientific Research, and cut the bureaucratic red tape at the Agency to make sure Americans get the Medical Cures and Treatments they deserve,” the statement reads.

Makary has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal regarding vaccines for 5-year-olds and and herd immunity in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a 2021 opinion piece for The Hill, Makary slammed the FDA for pausing the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine during the pandemic due to concerns about blood clots. He described the regulatory body’s decision making as “erratic” and lacking urgency.

“We need better medical leadership,” he wrote at the time.

Updated 8:53 p.m.