Trump Considering O'Neill for Deputy Secretary of HHS
A close adviser to Peter Thiel who has connections throughout Silicon Valley, O'Neill has recently reemerged as a candidate for the No. 2 position at HHS.
TroibNews 
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Jim O’Neill for the position of HHS deputy secretary, as confirmed by three sources familiar with the deliberations who requested anonymity to discuss the transition planning. O’Neill, a former associate of billionaire investor and early Trump supporter Peter Thiel, previously held various roles at HHS during the George W. Bush administration, including principal associate deputy secretary. However, he lacks formal medical training.
O’Neill has previously served as the acting CEO of The Thiel Foundation and as CEO at SENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit focused on anti-aging. He has proposed that individuals should be allowed to access medications once their safety, but not their effectiveness, has been evaluated by the FDA. “We should reform FDA so that it is approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety ... let's prove efficacy after they've been legalized,” O’Neill stated during a talk in 2014.
During Trump's first term, O’Neill was considered for the role of FDA chief before the selection of Scott Gottlieb. Eric Hargan, another Bush-era health official, was subsequently nominated and confirmed by the Senate to occupy the HHS deputy secretary position.
O’Neill, a veteran adviser to Thiel with connections throughout Silicon Valley, has resurfaced as a candidate for the No. 2 position at HHS, as transition officials work to finalize the senior health roles within the administration. A former official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would benefit from appointing a deputy who can adeptly navigate the extensive health department and execute policy goals. Paul Mango, who served as HHS deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has also been mentioned as a possible deputy secretary candidate.
“With a new cabinet secretary who has never had a managerial role in running a large organization, it’s even more important to have someone like Paul Mango as deputy secretary — one of the most important positions that most people have never even heard of,” the former official remarked.
It is uncertain how O'Neill would fit into a Kennedy-led HHS, which has already appointed senior officials who harbor significant skepticism towards mainstream health experts and possess ties to the pharmaceutical sector. Recently, Trump appointed Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary to lead the FDA, former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon to head the CDC, and Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general.
Sources close to the discussions have indicated that deliberations are still ongoing, leaving room for Trump to pivot in a different direction. “President-elect Trump has made brilliant decisions on who will serve in his second Administration at lightning pace,” said Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. “Remaining decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made."
In recent weeks, O’Neill has expressed support for RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda on X and has commended Stanford professor and critic of COVID lockdowns, Jay Bhattacharya, as a “courageous scientist” who “would be an excellent” NIH director.
However, O’Neill's pharmaceutical background may work against him. He has served as a managing director at Thiel’s Mithril Capital and is on the board of directors for ADvantage Therapeutics, a company focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also shared a post on Nov. 13, just a day before RFK Jr. was nominated, asserting, “There is a clear choice for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services: Jim O'Neill.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
O’Neill has previously served as the acting CEO of The Thiel Foundation and as CEO at SENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit focused on anti-aging. He has proposed that individuals should be allowed to access medications once their safety, but not their effectiveness, has been evaluated by the FDA. “We should reform FDA so that it is approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety ... let's prove efficacy after they've been legalized,” O’Neill stated during a talk in 2014.
During Trump's first term, O’Neill was considered for the role of FDA chief before the selection of Scott Gottlieb. Eric Hargan, another Bush-era health official, was subsequently nominated and confirmed by the Senate to occupy the HHS deputy secretary position.
O’Neill, a veteran adviser to Thiel with connections throughout Silicon Valley, has resurfaced as a candidate for the No. 2 position at HHS, as transition officials work to finalize the senior health roles within the administration. A former official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would benefit from appointing a deputy who can adeptly navigate the extensive health department and execute policy goals. Paul Mango, who served as HHS deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has also been mentioned as a possible deputy secretary candidate.
“With a new cabinet secretary who has never had a managerial role in running a large organization, it’s even more important to have someone like Paul Mango as deputy secretary — one of the most important positions that most people have never even heard of,” the former official remarked.
It is uncertain how O'Neill would fit into a Kennedy-led HHS, which has already appointed senior officials who harbor significant skepticism towards mainstream health experts and possess ties to the pharmaceutical sector. Recently, Trump appointed Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary to lead the FDA, former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon to head the CDC, and Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general.
Sources close to the discussions have indicated that deliberations are still ongoing, leaving room for Trump to pivot in a different direction. “President-elect Trump has made brilliant decisions on who will serve in his second Administration at lightning pace,” said Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. “Remaining decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made."
In recent weeks, O’Neill has expressed support for RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda on X and has commended Stanford professor and critic of COVID lockdowns, Jay Bhattacharya, as a “courageous scientist” who “would be an excellent” NIH director.
However, O’Neill's pharmaceutical background may work against him. He has served as a managing director at Thiel’s Mithril Capital and is on the board of directors for ADvantage Therapeutics, a company focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also shared a post on Nov. 13, just a day before RFK Jr. was nominated, asserting, “There is a clear choice for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services: Jim O'Neill.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
