Senate Confirms Califf as New FDA Commissioner

The Senate confirmed presidential nominee Robert Califf as the new commissioner of the FDA last week in a roll call vote of 89 to 4.

Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — who previously held a joint press conference discussing their opposition to Califf — were among the no votes. The other two were Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

The vote followed days of debate after the upper chamber voted 80 to 6 last week to invoke cloture, which allowed for up to 30 hours of debate before a final vote.