On Tuesday the Senate voted to confirm Robert Califf as the next commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The US FDA has not had a permanent leader since January 2021 and in November last year President Joe Biden nominated former FDA commissioner Robert Califf to lead the organization for a second time.

Now, in a tight vote resulting in 50 in favor of Califf and 46 against, he returns to the position he served in from 2016 until 2017 under former President Barack Obama.

Image: Stock Photo Secrets

In 2016, Califf entered his commissioner role with strong support in a vote of 89 to 4 but this time around he is said to have faced opposition from both the left and the right due to his close ties with the pharma space. Additionally, reports from various publications including Reuters disclosed that previous supporters of Califf withdrew their backing because of his response to regulations surrounding abortion pills, and how he handled the opiod epidemic during his previous tenure at the FDA.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin heavily criticized Califf’s handling of the opioid epidemic, taking to Twitter yesterday to tell his followers: “Califf has been FDA Commissioner for mere hours and his first order of business was installing someone who bears more responsibility for the opioid epidemic than any other member of the federal government. But that’s not a surprise given how he previously led the [US FDA].”

Califf will take over from Janet Woodcock, who left her position at Operation Warp Speed (OWS) to serve as acting FDA commissioner.