President-elect Trump has nominated biotech investor Jim O’Neill as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Deputy Secretary of HHS oversees the daily activities of all subagencies, whose missions include running the Medicare and Medicaid programs, leading public health emergency preparedness, shaping federal research and more. O’Neill would also oversee the development and approval of HHS regulations, and work under Trump’s pick for HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Jim and RFK Jr. will work together to ensure that every American, and especially our most valuable resource, our children, will live long and healthy lives and make America great and healthy again!” Trump said in a statement on the Truth Social platform.
O’Neill has a close relationship with billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship and director of his investment company Mithril Capital Management. Mithril also employed Ohio Senator and Vice President J.D. Vance, with whom O’Neill “enjoyed engaging conversations about technology, biology and culture,” according to his message on X. The investor currently sits on the board of directors of ADvantage Therapeutics, a biotech company developing therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease. He is a strong proponent of longevity medicine and a libertarian.
O’Neill’s name came up during the last Trump administration as a candidate for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He was considered a radical choice for commissioner because he had previously proposed that the agency initially approve drugs only on their safety, not their efficacy. He ultimately lost to Scott Gottlieb, a pharmaceutical industry investor and a more traditional choice.
This time, Trump is nominating more anti-establishment types to his Cabinet, starting with RFK Jr., a longtime vaccine critic and leader of Make America Healthy Again. Johns Hopkins surgeon and Covid vaccine mandate skeptic Marty Makary is running for FDA commissioner.
O’Neill has joined RFK Jr. in several X positions. including a post starting in November, he criticized vaccine mandates and told his followers “let’s make America healthy again.” He is too echoed RFK’s concerns about the fluoride content in drinking water, and about the influence of the food industry about dietary guidelines.
Earlier in his career, he worked as a speechwriter and policy advisor at HHS during the George W. Bush administration before becoming an investor. At HHS, he worked on pandemic preparedness, FDA reform, public health and other projects.
The role of deputy secretary at HHS requires Senate confirmation, but O’Neill could be more easily confirmed given his previous government experience. If the RFK Jr. takes a while to win over Congress next year, O’Neill could serve as acting secretary.