News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know T heWhite House has delayed nominating a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is continuing a search, according to officials, as the Trump administration navigates mounting political and operational risks that have already complicated other high-profile health appoint- ments. The responsibilities of leading the agency will remain with Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health, who has been serving as acting CDC director since last month. However, because of rules around tem- porary positions, he will no longer officially hold the title of acting director because his position as acting director expires at the end ofWednesday. “Dr. Bhattacharya will continue to oversee the CDC by performing the delegable duties of the CDC director,” said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CDC. The CDC – which is the nation’s leading public health agency, responsible for tracking outbreaks, guiding vac- cination policy and coordinating responses to everything from the seasonal flu to emerging pandemics – has only had a permanent leader for less than a month since Presi- dent Donald Trump was sworn into office for a second term. TheWhite House last month installed Chris Klomp, a health care businessman turned government official, as the operational leader of HHS, in part to quell controver- sies across the health agencies. Klomp has been assessing staffing across the health department and has played a key role in the process to select a CDC director. “Secretary Kennedy and Chris Klomp are working with theWhite House on the CDC director search by evaluat- ing candidates that can further the Trump administra- tion’s objective of restoring the CDC to its original mis- sion of fighting infectious disease,” Nixon said. Among the candidates who have been under consider- ation are former Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher, Mis- sissippi health director Daniel Edney and Johns Hopkins cardiologist Joseph Marine, according to several admin- istration officials and others familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. About half a dozen individuals are being seriously considered, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Administration officials had been working toward a goal of selecting a nominee before Bhattacha- rya’s appointment as acting director expired. The administration is taking the necessary time to find the person it believes is the right fit, according to three of- ficials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. White House officials grew frustrated last year after there were a wave of controversies within the administra- tion’s health agencies, including sudden shifts on vaccine policy. Ahead of November’s midterm elections, Trump officials are cautious about further unsettling voters already uneasy over how Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, has disrupted the childhood immu- nization schedule and reshaped federal vaccine policy. At the same time, they are reluctant to alienate Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again base, whose supporters are sharply critical of the CDC but wield meaningful political influence. The Atlanta-based CDC, a $9 billion agency, has been grappling with a growing measles outbreak, an increase in cases of other vaccine-preventable diseases and an extended leadership vacuum. But officials have grown increasingly cautious about advancing a permanent nominee, wary of triggering a contentious confirmation fight or internal clashes that could further destabilize the agency, according to three people familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. TheWhite House withdrew its nomination of former congressman DaveWeldon last year. Then theWhite House dismissed CDC Director Susan Monarez after she clashed with Kennedy over vaccine policy. The CDC has been without a permanent director since late August. Monarez, a scientist with many years of federal government service, served in an acting capac- ity from January to March 2025, and then as permanent director for less than a month, from July to August. Whoever leads the CDC will need the approval of Kennedy, who has upended long-standing norms that once insulated the CDC’s scientific work from political pressure. He fired the agency’s influential vaccine advi- sory panel and replaced its members with handpicked appointees, some of whom have strongly criticized vac- cines. He bypassed the traditional vaccine recommenda- tion process to unilaterally overhaul the childhood vac- cine schedule, dropping several routinely recommended vaccines, including for flu, rotavirus and meningococcal disease. Last week, a federal judge put a temporary hold on the changes to the vaccine schedule, Kennedy’s reconstitu- tion of the advisory panel and all decisions made by that committee. The judge said Kennedy probably violated federal procedures, a ruling that thrust the future of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee into uncertain, and unprecedented, territory. Starting last year, selection of the CDC director requires Senate approval, no longer leaving that power to the president alone. But the change has not brought stability to the agency, which has only had a Senate-con- firmed director for a brief period. Cuts to the agency, leadership turnover and disputes over policy direction have shaken confidence in the CDC’s scientific independence and intensified concerns that politics is encroaching on decisions once driven by data and consensus, according to former leaders and public health and medical experts. Morale has plunged as hundreds of employees have left through buyouts, retire- ments and layoffs. A diminished workforce is forced to respond to controversial decisions and navigate political pressures, leaving little time for the agency’s core mis- sion, according to current and former staff member. - TheWashington Post By Lena H. Sun, Rachel Roubein, Dan Diamond PHOTO:CDC.GOV Dr. Jay Bhattacharya White House Holds Off On Permanent Pick For CDC, Dr. Bhattacharya To Continue Meanwhile T he United States has announced sweeping new trade measures tar- geting patented pharmaceutical imports and metals, as President Donald Trump signed two significant executive actions. Under the new framework on Thurs- day, a 100% tariff will apply to patented drug imports from countries, including India, that have neither signed a reshor- ing agreement with the US Commerce Department nor a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing deal with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A seniorWhite House official said the measure was designed to reduce America’s dependence on foreign nations for es- sential medicines. The official further told ANI, “100% tariff is on patented products. Any patented drug imports from India made by companies that do not get ap- proved for a reshoring plan will be subject to a 100% tariff.” Generic medicines are currently exempt, though officials cautioned this could change if the generics industry does not move production back to the United States swiftly enough. “Generics, which are the majority of Indian pharma exports, are exempt from tariffs, but the Commerce Department will evaluate the state of generics reshoring and re-evaluate generics tariffs accord- ingly,” the official further told ANI. The tariff comes into effect on July 31 for larger companies and September 29 for smaller ones. Five country groupings have been offered preferential rates. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzer- land will each face a 15% tariff. The United Kingdom, whose major pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, have already signed reshoring and MFN agreements, will face a lower rate of 10%, with the ex- pectation that this could eventually reach zero. The administration also announced changes to how existing tariffs on steel, aluminium, and copper are calculated, a revision that will have direct implications for Indian metal exporters. For products that contain these metals, the rules have been simplified. Goods where the metal content accounts for less than 15% of the product’s weight will at- tract no separate metals tariff, facing only the standard country-level duty. Where metal content exceeds 15% by weight, a flat 25% tariff will apply to the full product value, irrespective of the precise metal composition. - ANI Trump Imposes 100% Tariff On Patented Drug Imports; Revises Metal Duties News India Times (April 4, 2026 - April 10, 2026) April 10, 2026 6 US Affairs By Reena Bhardwaj