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Cleared the Committee

A US Senate committee voted this week to approve the nomination of Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration, the Washington Post reports.

President Donald Trump nominated Hahn, a radiation oncologist and chief medical executive of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, to fill the position early last month. He is to succeed Scott Gottlieb, who stepped down as FDA commissioner in April. Norman Sharpless served as the acting commissioner following Gottlieb's departure, but has since returned to the National Cancer Institute.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted 18 to 5 to approve his nomination, which must still be voted on by the full Senate, the Post reports. It adds that committee chair Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said that Hahn, with his experience in both research and management, is "exactly the type of nominee" needed to lead FDA. It adds that Senator Patty Murphy (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, faulted Hahn for not committing to removing non-tobacco e-cigarettes from the market during his hearing and voted against him.

The Post adds a date hasn't been set yet for the full Senate vote on Hahn's nomination, but notes that Alexander has said he hoped to have Hahn confirmed by the end of the year.

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