STAT+: Trump’s picks to run FDA and NIH win approval from Senate’s health committee
Jay Bhattacharya, nominee for National Institutes of Health director, and FDA pick Marty Makary clear key Senate committee.
WASHINGTON — The Senate health committee voted on Thursday to endorse Marty Makary as Food and Drug Administration commissioner and Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health.
The committee voted 14-9 to advance Makary, with Democratic senators Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and John Hickenlooper (Colo.) joining Republicans. The vote for Bhattacharaya was 12-11 along party lines. The next step for the nominees is a vote by the full Senate, where a GOP majority all but ensures they will be confirmed.
“The American people’s trust in public health institutions must be restored,” Senate health committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said in remarks before the vote. “Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. Makary have demonstrated that they are ready to take on this responsibility.”
