President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“He will be led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working to, among other things, tackle the harmful chemicals that are poisoning our nation’s food supply, and properly evaluate the drugs and biologics being given to our nation’s youth so that we can finally address the chronic childhood epidemic,” Trump said in his announcement.

If confirmed by the Senate, Makary’s job would be to oversee the FDA’s $7 billion budget and report to the health secretary. The agency oversees $3.6 trillion worth of food, tobacco and medical products, including some 20,000 prescription drugs on the market.

Here are three things you need to know about Makary:

Makary is a respected transplant surgeon who questions his colleagues’ recommendations about COVID

Makary was known during the pandemic as a seasoned medical expert willing to challenge his colleagues’ assumptions about COVID, although he was often criticized by his colleagues for cherry-picking data or omitting context.

He appeared regularly on Fox News and wrote opinion articles questioning the value of lockdowns and masks for children. He supported the use of vaccines but opposed mandates and questioned the usefulness of boosters, contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s resounding recommendations on boosters.

One of his views was that the US government underestimated the number of people who were likely immune to the virus. In early 2021, he predicted that much of the country would achieve “herd immunity” by April, dramatically reducing the risk of the virus.

However, that assumption did not happen.

As restrictions eased and a new variant emerged, virus-related deaths rose from around 4,000 per week to around 15,000 per week in September, making 2021 a deadlier year than when the pandemic began.

Makary stood by his claim that “natural immunity” continued to be underestimated by the US government.

“One reason public health officials may be afraid to acknowledge the effectiveness of natural immunity is that they fear it will lead some to choose the infection over vaccination. That’s a legitimate concern. But we can encourage all Americans to get vaccinated while still being honest. about the data,” he wrote a separate op-ed in The Washington Post.

He sounds a lot like RFK Jr. when he talks about the “poisoned” food supply, pesticides and ultra-processed foods.

After the pandemic, Makary began to return to his initial focus against an overpriced health care system. He has long argued that the system is broken, causing patients to be overcharged and unnecessary tests performed.

He also began speaking more critically about the American food system, echoing a message embraced by Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have a supply of poisoned food. We have pesticides. We have ultra-processed food and all kinds of things that are in the blind spots of modern medicine,” Makary told Fox News in September.

Kennedy would also need Senate confirmation to get the job.

In a later interview, Makary praised Trump’s decision to select Kennedy.

“He wants to tackle corruption in healthcare and corruption in our health agencies,” he said.

He warns against “drugging our nation’s children.”

It’s not clear exactly what Makary would do if appointed FDA commissioner, as much of his work would likely be directed by Trump and the new health secretary, possibly Kennedy.

But Makary has previously proposed an overhaul of the FDA’s “erratic” bureaucracy, which he said was too eager to approve opioids and too cautious when it came to other drugs like the COVID antiviral pill Molnupiravir.

“For too long, FDA leaders have acted like a grumpy librarian who gets irritated when someone wants to borrow a book. But then favoring people they like,” Makary wrote in a 2021 op-ed article in Fox News.

More recently, he called for a ban on cellphones in schools, and praised Kennedy for questioning the use of anti-anxiety and obesity medications in children.

“What he’s really focused on is the idea that we can’t continue to drug our nation’s children,” Makary said of Kennedy.

Asked whether Kennedy can accomplish what he wants to do in four years, Makary told Fox News he will try to bring in more scientists and “let them do good work.”

Kennedy “is really the quintessential environmental health advocate of our time, and that may be the essential issue of our time,” Makary said.