President Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration dodged a key question on whether he will adopt reforms Trump touted on the campaign trail to lower high drug prices.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s nominee to be FDA commissioner, has previously opposed letting people buy cheaper drugs from Canada, a key move that Democrats are pushing and Trump has previously supported.
But during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, he refused to say outright that he opposes the practice called drug re-importation.
“I can tell you I have a lot of ideas that I want to work on right away on how I think we can get more product competition on to the market,” Gottlieb, an agency veteran, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who ran for president as a Democrat, said he was flummoxed that Trump would appoint Gottlieb despite his previous opposition to drug re-importation. Sanders co-sponsored legislation that would legalize the practice of re-importation.
“I ask Dr. Gottlieb why would President Trump appoint somebody to a very important position as head of the FDA whose views run diametrically opposite to what he said during the campaign.
“I can’t speak to why the president of the United States nominated me for this role,” Gottlieb responded.
Gottlieb also said he would be independent and recuse himself of any conflicts of interest.
He served in the FDA during the George W. Bush administration and since then has served as a consultant to drug and device makers. He is also a resident fellow of the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.
