Public Health and the Midterm Elections– A Field Guide
The Trump Administration has been hostile to policies and programs that are generally favored by the public health and scientific research communities. This need not continue forever–or even wait until the end of Trump’s term in January 2029.
Voter sentiment is critical to achieving the goal of securing help from Congress to rebuff Trump/Kennedy public health policies, including vaccines. This will likely be known by late evening on Election Day, based on whether the election is a blue tsunami, a blue wave, a red undertow, or the status quo. FDA Matters provides that analysis, including the range of Congressional results associated with each.
Once election winners are determined, FDA Matters plans to publish a more detailed analysis of public health policy prospects.
FDA Matters provides short-form analysis of FDA policy and regulatory issues. We know you are busy, so we publish 1 to 2 columns per week, each a 3-5 minute read.
FDA Matters does not report the news….we provide analysis of what’s behind the news.
FDA Matters advocates for a more effective, efficient, and fair FDA.
FDA Matters has been featured in:
Can the Midterms Save Vaccines? Don’t Count on It.
In a new MedPage Today op-ed, Steven Grossman and Michael Miller, MD, look past the November midterms to what vaccine advocates should expect in 2027. Pro-vaccine coalitions made real gains this year, coordinating legal challenges to the reshaped ACIP and pushing back…
Leading FDA Is an Impossible Job Right Now. Heidi Overton Could Still Do It Well.
In a new MedPage Today op-ed, Steven Grossman explains why he supports Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, the administration’s nominee for FDA commissioner. At her Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing, Overton kept to a clear principle: anything the FDA has deemed safe and…
Chairman Cassidy: Please Ask Dr. Overton About FDA Decision-Making
With President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton as FDA Commissioner and the pending confirmation hearing, it’s worth asking for clarification about what qualifications are required to meet the weighty responsibilities of the position. Are there any…
The FDA’s Century-Long Campaign to Assure Safe Manufacturing (Part 2)
A Larger Context for Readers Monitoring FDA’s Review of Unapproved Peptide Drugs For more than a century, FDA has been working towards ensuring that drugs are consistently manufactured at scale to FDA standards. As a result, consumers can be largely assured of drugs…
The FDA’s Century-Long Campaign to Assure Safe Drug Manufacturing (Part 1)
Initial FDA approval gets all the glory in the world of drugs and biologics. However, that approval has limited value if patients cannot rely upon receiving the original FDA-approved drug product (or an FDA-approved generic or biosimilar). For over one hundred years,…
A Marathon, Not a Sprint: The Long Road to Becoming the Next FDA Commissioner
Around DC, there are a lot of smart people talking about the race to fill the job of FDA Commissioner. To me, it’s more of a slog than a race; certainly, more of a marathon than a sprint. It’s highly unlikely that anyone will be nominated soon, and no one will be…