Despite Senators’ Concerns Over Ties To Pharma Industry, Gottlieb Confirmed To Lead FDA
Dr. Scott Gottlieb was seen as a moderate choice of President Trump’s, compared with other candidates he was reportedly considering.
The New York Times:
Senate Confirms Scott Gottlieb To Head F.D.A.
The Senate voted 57 to 42 on Tuesday to confirm Dr. Scott Gottlieb as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, where he will be responsible for regulating drug companies to which he has had close ties in recent years. Dr. Gottlieb, 44, has promised to divest himself from several health care companies and recuse himself for one year from decisions involving those businesses, but that was not enough for many Democratic senators, including Patty Murray of Washington. (Thomas, 5/9)
In other national health care news —
The Wall Street Journal:
13 And Counting: Obama Regulations Rolled Back Under Congressional Review Act
Republicans intent on rolling back Obama-era regulations have made liberal use of a once-obscure tool: the Congressional Review Act. The act has been used to undo 13 regulations since President Donald Trump took office, and another one is on the president’s desk but hasn’t been signed. Removing the regulations has affected a range of issues from the environment to the workplace to health and education. (Beilfuss, 5/9)
The Associated Press:
Abortion Foes Cheer Series Of Advances, As Opponents Protest
From the U.S. Capitol and the White House to far-flung battlegrounds in Arizona, Iowa and elsewhere, it's been a dramatic fortnight in the debate over access to abortion and birth control. Foes of abortion celebrated a series of advances and claimed new momentum, as abortion rights supporters mounted protests to try to blunt it. Planned Parenthood, the anti-abortion movement's prime target, called it "the world's worst week for women's health." (Crary and Silber, 5/9)
The Washington Post:
House Panel Probes Drug Distributors And DEA Amid National Opioid Crisis
A congressional committee Monday opened an investigation into the Drug Enforcement Administration’s slowdown of enforcement efforts in the face of a national opioid epidemic and demanded to know why drug distributors had shipped hundreds of millions of painkillers to communities in West Virginia. The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to the DEA and the nation’s three largest drug distribution companies, giving them until June 8 to answer questions about their responsibilities to combat the rising epidemic, which has claimed nearly 180,000 lives during the past decade. (Higham and Bernstein, 5/9)