DeSantis floats Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo as candidate for Trump's HHS secretary
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is advocating for President-elect Donald Trump to tap state surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"Retweet if you’d like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the Secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration," DeSantis wrote in a post on X, which features a photo of Ladapo.
The post has earned thousands of retweets and amassed more than 1 million views.
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis was one of the many people who endorsed her husband's idea by retweeting the post.
On the heels of Trump's decisive 2024 presidential election victory, DeSantis declared Wednesday on X that Trump "not only earned a sweeping electoral victory, he earned a mandate for change."
Ladapo tweeted on Wednesday, "The future of health freedom looks brighter today. Just as in Florida, it’s time to say ‘No’ to trampling on people’s rights, to gaslighting citizens about experimental vaccines that harm instead of help & to muzzling doctors who dissent with orthodoxy. Light triumphs over darkness."
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Ladapo recommends against using mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Florida Department of Health.
"Based on the high rate of global immunity and currently available data, the State Surgeon General advises against the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines," the department noted in a September press release. "Any provider concerned about the health risks associated with COVID-19 for patients over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and treatment."
Ladapo asserted in a September tweet that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration "are gaslighting Americans with their new, unproven COVID-19 boosters, and recommend them for 6 month-old babies!"
"We say bring data, acknowledge serious safety concerns & acknowledge the many people who believe they’ve been injured by these vaccines," Ladapo added.
NEW COVID VACCINE PUSH IS ‘ANTI-HUMAN,’ SAYS FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL: ‘MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN’
The CDC's 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Immunization Schedule advises three doses of the 2024-2025 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 6 months through 4-years-old.
"An 8-week interval between the first and second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine might be optimal for some people, as it might reduce the rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccines," the CDC notes.