Gottlieb’s FDA Nomination Gets Committee Nod, Advances to Senate
Summary
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee voted 14-9 on Thursday to approve Gottlieb’s nomination to become FDA commissioner.All of the Republicans on the committee voted for Gottlieb, along with two Democrats, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.At the outset of his administration, President Trump said he wanted to slash FDA regulations and speed up the process for approving new drugs and medical devices.Many pharmaceutical executives, who feared that someone unfamiliar with the life sciences industry could impose radical changes, favored Gottlieb for the FDA post.Before Thursday’s vote, Alexander noted that Gottlieb’s nomination had the support of former FDA commissioners Robert Califf, Margaret Hamburg, and Scott McClellan.