In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday afternoon, DeSantis asked his followers to let him know whether they felt Trump ought to tap Dr. Joseph Ladapo to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
"Retweet if you'd like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration," DeSantis posted.
DeSantis appointed Ladapo to the post of Florida surgeon general in September 2021 after the Nigerian-born Harvard Medical School grad gained notoriety for his essays in the Wall Street Journal criticizing pandemic lockdowns, COVID-19 vaccines, and mask-wearing. The Florida Senate confirmed Ladapo's appointment in February 2022.Retweet if you’d like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the Secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration. cc: @FLSurgeonGen pic.twitter.com/FP6dC1sZ2W
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 6, 2024
During his tenure, the former associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles's School of Medicine has battled with public health officials over the safety of vaccines and threatened TV stations with criminal charges for airing advertisements in support of Amendment 4, the ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
During a measles outbreak in February of this year, Ladapo broke with federal guidelines by leaving it up to parents of grade schoolers whether to to vaccinate their children or keep them home to stop the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The governor's tweet followed news that Ladapo is on fellow conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s shortlist for a position in Trump's administration.
Kennedy, who is expected to help the president-elect fill the top posts at federal health agencies, is said to be eyeing Ladapo as the candidate for secretary of health and human services — a cabinet post. And last week the Washington Post reported that Ladapo might also be tapped as the U.S. surgeon general — the nation's chief medical doctor.
HHS is responsible for enhancing "the health and well-being of all Americans, by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are among the agencies that fall under the purview of HHS.
