Biden to choose former FDA commissioner Robert Califf to lead agency again
that has drawn concern because of the significant role the agency has in combatting the coronavirus pandemic.
The choice was reported by the Associated Press and other media outlets and confirmed to USA TODAY by a source familiar with the decision who declined to be identified because the president has not made the announcement.
Califf was the FDA’s commissioner from February 2016 to January 2017.
He was confirmed by the Senate 89-4, a possible sign that he could gain bipartisan support again.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been urging the president to nominate a commissioner.
The agency is being led by acting commissioner Janet Woodcock.
The longtime FDA administrator had been viewed as the White House’s top choice but some Democrats opposed making Woodcock the permanent commissioner. They accuse her of being too cozy with the drug industry in the regulation of opioid-based painkillers.
The criticism that rained down on the FDA after its approval of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug didn’t help Woodcock.
The law prevents Woodcock from remaining acting commissioner past Monday unless Biden chooses a nominee. Once Biden announces his decision, Woodcock can continue to run the agency until Califf is confirmed.
The list of issues on the FDA’s plate include keeping up with the dangerous coronavirus variants, supporting the development of antiviral treatments, advancing the availability of reliable, easy-to-use tests, implementing regulations for tobacco products and food safety provisions, and addressing a backlog of facility inspections.
Before former President Barack Obama nominated Califf to first head the FDA, he was deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco. He’d previously been a professor of medicine and vice chancellor for clinical and translational research at Duke University.
Califf is an internationally recognized expert in in cardiovascular medicine, health outcomes research, healthcare quality, and clinical research.
In 2019, Califf joined Google’s parent, Alphabet, to help lead health policy.
Maureen Groppe has covered Washington for nearly three decades and is now a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow her on Twitter @mgroppe.