Durbin Speaks On President Trump's Nominee To Lead FDA
Durbin: We cannot afford an FDA Commissioner who gets chewed up by Elon Musk’s chainsaw or stands by as RFK Jr. pushes his deadly bias against vaccines
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today shared more about his meeting with President Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Marty Makary. During his floor speech, Durbin highlighted ways Mr. Makary, if confirmed, and the Senator could work together, such as promoting healthy food, addressing the deceptive direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements on TV, or better ensuring the safety of dietary supplements for consumers nationwide. However, Durbin also outlined concerns with Mr. Makary’s nomination—such as, would he be willing to withstand pressure from Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, or even the President in order to protect public health?
“The Food and Drug Administration is one of the most important agencies in the federal government and the world. Every day, the FDA makes life or death decisions—whether to approve a new cancer drug, initiate a recall of a contaminated food, or keep deadly tobacco products out of the hands of our children. The agency oversees [about] 20 percent of the entire American economy, nearly $3 trillion on a budget of just $6 billion annually,” said Durbin. “Yesterday, I met with President Trump’s FDA nominee, Dr. Marty Makary… I appreciated Dr. Makary’s comments that a medication can give a patient false hope if it is not affordable.”
“The FDA requires a commissioner who is willing to withstand pressure—from Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, or maybe even the President—to protect public health. We cannot afford an FDA Commissioner who gets chewed up by Elon Musk’s chainsaw or stands idly by as RFK Jr. pushes his deadly bias against vaccines. To safeguard and regulate the food we eat and the drugs we use, we need a leader at FDA with the courage to say ‘no,’” Durbin continued.
As a leader in the fight against Big Tobacco, Durbin reiterated the need for an FDA Commissioner to stand up to Big Tobacco and protect our children. Cigarettes are responsible for more than 480,000 preventable deaths each year.
“While we have succeeded in reducing youth smoking rates, anyone who thought Big Tobacco would disappear was mistaken. They re-branded with flashy new products: vaping [and] e-cigarettes. And they followed the same playbook used to drive sales of Marlboros: target kids. For years, FDA utterly failed to protect children from a lifetime of addiction fueled by e-cigarettes, many of which are sold by the largest tobacco companies,” said Durbin.
Under the law, an e-cigarette company is required to first prove to FDA that its product is “appropriate for the protection of public health,” prior to entering the market. This did not happen. Instead, tens of thousands of dangerous, highly addictive e-cigarettes illegally flooded the market without FDA review—hooking a generation of kids. By law, FDA is required to remove all unauthorized tobacco products from the market, and yet, that has not happened.
“So, the question is, will Donald Trump’s FDA nominee follow the science and the law to protect children or will he align with the tobacco corporations that peddle this poison?” Durbin asked.
Durbin also highlighted President Trump and Elon Musk’s cruel decision to fire thousands of federal health workers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and FDA. This includes 120 cancer researchers at NIH who are running clinical trials for new cures, and “disease detectives” at CDC who help identify and respond to outbreaks of new viruses. At FDA, those fired included: inspectors of drug manufacturing plants, regulators in charge of recalling faulty medical devices, and those monitoring the safety of infant formula.
“For goodness sake, we have a measles outbreak in Texas that has killed two and sickened 220 people, mostly unvaccinated children. It is the worst measles outbreak in a generation. Instead of encouraging vaccinations to save these kids, Secretary Kennedy diminished their significance by falsely stating that measles outbreaks are ‘not unusual…’ NIH is cutting 40 grant awards forpromoting vaccine uptake and addressing hesitancy—which breaks the promises he [Kennedy] made to Republican Senators who were skeptical of his nomination,” Durbin said.
“You cannot claim that you want to Make America Healthy Again, and then allow preventable diseases to come roaring back, all while firing scientists working to address these challenges. Will Dr. Makary stand up to Mr. Kennedy and encourage parents to vaccinate their children? Will he stand up to the buzz of Elon Musk’s chainsaw? To Big Tobacco? I hope that he will,” Durbin concluded.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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