The Senate confirmed Dr. Robert Califf as the head to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. President Biden nominated Califf to head the Food and Drug Administration in November.
The Senate confirmed Califf despite some concerns over his close ties to the pharmaceutical industry and GOP opposition to his stance on access to birth control. The Senate voted to confirm Califf on a 50-46 vote, split largely along party lines according to a release from NPR.
Califf led the agency in 2016-2017, in the last year of the Obama administration. In a statement, the White House called Califf "an internationally recognized expert in clinical trial research, health disparities, healthcare quality, and cardiovascular medicine."
The agency has been without a permanent leader, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, since Biden took office in January.
