A key U.S. Senate panel voted to advance the nominations of President Donald Trump’s picks to lead the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The nominees will next face confirmation votes before the full Senate.
FDA commissioner nominee Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins Medicine surgeon, and NIH pick Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health economist and doctor, sailed through the committee.
Related: Trump administration withdraws Dave Weldon CDC nomination
The votes by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions signal that the nominees will likely be confirmed to head up agencies that oversee food and drug regulation and scientific research.
Earlier on Thursday, the same committee canceled a hearing for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nominee Dave Weldon after the White House withdrew him.
During confirmation hearings earlier this month, senators questioned Makary about a key public flu vaccine meeting that had been canceled. While Makary wouldn’t commit to rescheduling, he did say he’d have the FDA’s advisory panel on vaccines continue meeting.
The senators also pressed Bhattacharya about whether there would be continued cuts at the NIH, which he said he didn’t plan to do. Bhattacharya also declined to weigh in on his intentions for another cost-cutting measure, a proposed cap on NIH payments for researcher’s administrative expenses that can include cleaning supplies and security.
The directors of the FDA and NIH serve as the two top deputies for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was confirmed in mid-February. Kennedy has plans for a sweeping policy agenda called “Make America Healthy Again.”
Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will face a hearing this week.
Trump’s picks have by and large been confirmed by the Senate.
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