Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 10
U.S. Health Agencies Operate Without 4 Key Leaders, Including CDC and FDA
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 10

U.S. Health Agencies Operate Without 4 Key Leaders, Including CDC and FDA

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 10

Summary

  • Four top U.S. public health posts are effectively unfilled, leaving major agencies without permanent leadership under President Donald Trump’s second term.
  • The CDC has cycled through acting directors, while the FDA lost its commissioner last month and still lacks a second-in-command.
  • The administration also has not installed a surgeon general at any point in Trump’s current term, extending the leadership gap beyond the two biggest health agencies.
  • The vacancies leave the federal health apparatus relying on temporary arrangements across agencies central to disease response, drug regulation and public health messaging.

Insights

As leadership gaps widen in America's health agencies, who will protect the nation from the next pandemic?
With key health leadership roles vacant, is the development of future life-saving cures now in jeopardy?
With public trust in health recommendations at a low, can temporary leaders reverse this dangerous trend?