Last night President Trump made it official that our friend Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is his nominee to run the National Institutes of Health. We wrote a paeon to Jay when this possibility was first reported, and noted we were impressed by his incredible ability to remain cheerful and respectful even while subject to vicious smears and even outright censorship.

Perhaps the greatest justice in this appointment is that when Dr. Jay is confirmed by the Senate, the man disparaged by Francis Collins as a “fringe epidemiologist” who needed a “devastating takedown” (for proposing focused protection of the vulnerable) will replace Francis Collins atop the NIH.

Now that is a real “takedown.”