Trump names COVID lockdown critic Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as pick for NIH director

President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies to serve as the head of the National Institutes of Health.

In a statement, Trump said he has picked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as NIH director to work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- whom Trump named as his pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services -- to direct the nation's medical research.

"Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," Trump said in the statement. "Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again!

Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford University who gained notoriety for openly opposing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

In addition to a medical degree, he has a doctorate in economics.

Trump also nominated Jim O'Neil to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to "oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability," according to a statement.