Dr. Stephen Hahn, a hospital executive and cancer specialist, is President Trump’s choice for FDA commissioner, said the White House. Hahn had been rumored for the post for weeks. But in a surprise, Health Secretary Alex Azar said FDA’s interim leader, Ned Sharpless, would return immediately to his previous post of director of the National Cancer Institute because he had hit a statutory time limit of 210 days for service as an acting agency chief.
Hahn is chief medical executive of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a radiation oncologist who specializes in treating lung cancer and sarcoma. The cancer center, with 21,000 employees and annual revenue of $5 billion, is active in cancer research. If confirmed by the Senate, Hahn would succeed Scott Gottlieb, who left the FDA in April.
Hahn is still undergoing a background check, said the Washington Post.
Azar said the assistant secretary of health, Brett Giroir, would run FDA until Hahn is confirmed. “He will be able to assume the delegable duties of the Commissioner at this time and ensure the FDA’s work continues to move forward.”
Among the issues facing FDA is whether to impose stricter controls on vaping.