Six Republican Senators saved President Biden’s nominee for FDA commissioner Robert Califf after several Democrats voted to drop him.
Califf’s nomination to lead the FDA, a job he held under former President Barack Obama, looked dead in the water thanks to losing the support of a group of prominent Democrat Senators; however, thanks to Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Richard Burr (R-NC), Califf will once again lead the FDA.
It isn’t exactly shocking to see traitors like Senator Romney and Murkowski bailing President Biden’s awful nominees out. This vote is a great reminder that the Republican Party has house cleaning to do.
RINOs bolstering Biden
Democrats don’t need Senate seats when they can count on the support of Republicans-In-Name-Only that have remained influential despite their clear split allegiances.
Voting down Califf’s nomination was an easy win that Republicans could have taken. But instead, they opposed the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) to nominate Califf.
Califf faced intense scrutiny for his role in the devastating opioid epidemic that is still killing Americans and ruining thousands of lives.
Califf’s failure to take proper steps during his last stint as the commissioner of the FDA earned him a cold shoulder from several Democrat Senators. Worse yet, Califf faced some of his hardest questions from Democrats, not Republicans.
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) asked Califf, “Why didn’t you take action to change the oxycontin label when you led the FDA in 2016?” Senator Sanders also took Califf to task over his allegiances to the pharmaceutical industry.
During one hearing, Senator Sanders asked, “At a time when the American people are outraged by the high cost of prescription drugs … what kind of comfort can you give to the American people when you have been so closely tied to the pharmaceutical industry yourself?”
Califf’s answers weren’t enough to satisfy Democrats, but they were enough to satisfy the RINOs plaguing the Republican Party.
Time to clean house
Republicans have been overly focused on Democrats in some respects especially considering the greatest threat to Republican power is coming from within.
Republicans like Senator Romney and Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) have had a disproportionate impact on politics in the past year. Representative Cheney, in particular, bolstered the credibility of the witch-hunting against former President Donald Trump.
While Republicans must beat Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, it is equally important to lay the groundwork for removing figures like Romney and Cheney, who are more like Democrats than Republicans.
