President-elect Joe Biden is quickly nominating individuals to serve on his Cabinet. Some are complete newcomers that people may have not heard of unless they closely follow politics, while some familiar faces such as John Kerry are slated to return to Washington. The eJuices.co team is going to take a look at who might be the next FDA commissioner, and whether or not that person is going to be friendly to the vaping industry.
The FDA is Under The HHS
Realistically, we may not know who the next FDA commissioner will be until we know who the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be. The FDA is an agency under HHS. Even before that, the special elections in Georgia are going to be pivotal as they may balance the Senate or allow Republicans to retain control, thus making it more difficult for any nominee Biden puts before the Senate for confirmation. The Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, is also the President-elect of the Senate and the tie breaking vote, so any potential ties will break in favor of the Democrats.
Nominees for HHS Secretary
Biden has floated two possible candidates for HHS Secretary: current governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham, and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Presidents have a history of choosing governors to lead the HHS, and Grisham has serious backing to be the new HHS secretary. “When we think about someone who’s a manager and a leader who knows these issues, Michelle is top of the list,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), who also worked with Grisham when they were both in the House of Representatives.
Grisham recently signed SB 131, which raised the purchase age for vaping products to 21 and designated regulatory authority and enforcement to state agencies. The good news is that both the vaping industry and public health advocates have endorsed this bill, which passed and was signed into law in March. This may indicate Grisham’s willingness to endorse an FDA commissioner who may be more friendly to vape. Grisham has not stated publicly whether or not she wanted to ban flavors, but those close to the governor’s office said that she wanted to go after flavors in the future.
Murthy, in addition to his experience as Surgeon General in the Obama administration, is a longtime public health advocate. His past experience and his current role as part of Biden’s transition COVID-19 response team could boost his standing to be HHS secretary. At 43, Murthy’s resume could be boosted in the long run if nominated and confirmed as HHS secretary. However, Murthy’s lack of managerial experience could hurt his chances—HHS has a $1 trillion budget and 80,000 employees. Murthy was fired from the role by President Donald Trump in April 2017. Murthy has held anti-vaping stances and he controversially called gun deaths a public health crisis, drawing ire from Second Amendment supporters.
FDA Commissioner Still Unknown
As of this writing, no nominees have been put forth by Biden. However, with COVID-19 being a priority for the incoming administration, the FDA commissioner may not even address vaping despite attempts to link vaping to COVID-19. On Biden’s COVID-19 transition team, there is one former FDA commissioner: Dr. David Kessler. Kessler is also the only FDA commissioner in the agency’s history to stay in the role despite a change in the presidency from a Republican administration to a Democratic administration. He served from 1990 to 1997, serving during the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.
It is very possible that Dr. Stephen Hahn, the current commissioner, could stay on in the Biden administration. In addition, the FDA commissioner does not necessarily need to be a physician, although the position is traditionally filled by a physician. Hahn was confirmed by a 72-18 vote in December 2019, showing that he has bipartisan support. We will keep you updated on whether or not a new FDA commissioner will be chosen. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always contact your eJuices.co account manager or sales representative.