Senator Hassan Votes Against Confirming the Nominee for FDA Commissioner

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today voted against confirming Dr. Stephen Hahn as the next Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner.

“The Food and Drug Administration has an essential mission to protect the health and safety of all Americans – and its leaders must make decisions based on science, not political influence,” said Senator Hassan. “I voted against confirming Dr. Hahn because at his confirmation hearing, he would not commit that he would put science ahead of politics and corporate special interests. From the opioid crisis to youth e-cigarette use, we need bold and quick action from the FDA, and I will keep doing everything I can to ensure that the FDA’s responses to these urgent public health threats are free from political interference.”

In the nomination hearing for Dr. Hahn, Senator Hassan pressed for a full accounting of the FDA’s past actions regarding the approval and labeling of opioid products. In response, Dr. Hahn committed to responding within his first 30 days as commissioner should he be confirmed to a letter that Senator Hassan and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) sent on this issue over eight months ago.

In addition, Senator Hassan called on Dr. Hahn to protect the integrity of FDA’s statutory authority over flavored e-cigarettes, specifically calling for public disclosure of all meetings between FDA and Juul, as well as any data FDA receives from companies like Juul related to youth e-cigarette use.

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