President Trump undercut government scientists on new F.D.A. guidelines for approving a coronavirus vaccine, suggesting the plan might be political.
Trump renews his criticism of the F.D.A., suggesting it may be driven by politics.
President Trump said Wednesday that the White House “may or may not” approve new Food and Drug Administration guidelines requiring outside experts to weigh in before the agency approves a coronavirus vaccine, and said the plan “sounds like a political move,” undercutting government scientists who had said the opposite just hours earlier.
The president’s comments to reporters in the White House briefing room came after four of the administration’s top health officials who are helping to steer the government’s coronavirus response appeared in front of a Senate panel in an effort to bolster public trust in the F.D.A.
The officials told the panel that they had complete faith in the agency and that science and data — not politics — were guiding its decisions.
Their testimony came as the F.D.A. prepared to issue stricter guidelines for the emergency authorization of any new coronavirus vaccine. That would add a new layer to the vetting process.
But Mr. Trump has insisted a vaccine may be ready as early as next month — and he sounded more than a little skeptical about the new guidelines.
“That has to be approved by the White House,” he said, adding, “We may or may not approve it.”
The president then said, “I think that was a political move more than anything else.”
Asked about it a second time, Mr. Trump doubled down, repeating that the White House “may or may not” approve the new guidelines.
At Wednesday’s Senate hearing, the doctors — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Admiral Brett P. Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar — defended the scientific integrity of the F.D.A. amid mounting evidence that President Trump and his administration have interfered with their agencies’ decision-making and growing public doubts about a coronavirus vaccine.
A day after reported U.S. deaths toll from the pandemic passed 200,000, lawmakers at the hearing pressed the scientists for assurances that the agency was not being influenced by politics. They were assured that this was not the case.
In a show of public support that would have been unnecessary in the pre-Trump era, all four doctors pledged to personally take any vaccine approved by the F.D.A. and said they would encourage their families to do the same.
Trump renews his criticism of the F.D.A., suggesting it may be driven by politics.
President Trump said Wednesday that the White House “may or may not” approve new Food and Drug Administration guidelines requiring outside experts to weigh in before the agency approves a coronavirus vaccine, and said the plan “sounds like a political move,” undercutting government scientists who had said the opposite just hours earlier.
The president’s comments to reporters in the White House briefing room came after four of the administration’s top health officials who are helping to steer the government’s coronavirus response appeared in front of a Senate panel in an effort to bolster public trust in the F.D.A.
The officials told the panel that they had complete faith in the agency and that science and data — not politics — were guiding its decisions.
Their testimony came as the F.D.A. prepared to issue stricter guidelines for the emergency authorization of any new coronavirus vaccine. That would add a new layer to the vetting process.
But Mr. Trump has insisted a vaccine may be ready as early as next month — and he sounded more than a little skeptical about the new guidelines.
“That has to be approved by the White House,” he said, adding, “We may or may not approve it.”
The president then said, “I think that was a political move more than anything else.”
Asked about it a second time, Mr. Trump doubled down, repeating that the White House “may or may not” approve the new guidelines.
At Wednesday’s Senate hearing, the doctors — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Admiral Brett P. Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar — defended the scientific integrity of the F.D.A. amid mounting evidence that President Trump and his administration have interfered with their agencies’ decision-making and growing public doubts about a coronavirus vaccine.
A day after reported U.S. deaths toll from the pandemic passed 200,000, lawmakers at the hearing pressed the scientists for assurances that the agency was not being influenced by politics. They were assured that this was not the case.
In a show of public support that would have been unnecessary in the pre-Trump era, all four doctors pledged to personally take any vaccine approved by the F.D.A. and said they would encourage their families to do the same.
