The Trump administration has picked AIDS researcher Robert Redfield to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Redfield has researched HIV and infectious diseases for more than 30 years, but Democrats have called into question his credentials after a probe in the 1990s of his handling of AIDS vaccine data.
Redfield does not need Senate confirmation to helm the CDC. He would succeed former Director Barbara Fitzgerald, who resigned in the wake of a scandal over her purchase of tobacco stocks.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar praised Redfield in a statement Wednesday.
“Dr. Redfield’s scientific and clinical background is peerless: As just one example, during his two-decade tenure at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, he made pioneering contributions to advance our understanding of HIV/AIDS,” he said. “His more recent work running a treatment network in Baltimore for HIV and Hepatitis C patients also prepares him to hit the ground running on one of HHS and CDC’s top priorities, combating the opioid epidemic.”
But some Democrats objected to Redfield when reports said that he was being considered.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she was concerned about the Army’s probe into Redfield in 1993. The Army looked into whether he misrepresented data on an AIDS vaccine candidate at an international conference.
The Army didn’t find any evidence of scientific misconduct but chided Redfield’s analysis of clinical trial data on the vaccine as faulty and said he prematurely presented the information.
Not all Democrats are against the choice. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told Politico that Redfield has done good work in Baltimore and would be a good choice.
