FDA shake-up continues as another comms official removed from top role

Another Trump appointee has been removed from a top communications post at FDA, continuing a shake-up of the agency’s media strategy after the troubled rollout of a coronavirus treatment authorization, according to two officials with knowledge of the move.

John “Wolf” Wagner, who’s served as FDA’s associate commissioner for external affairs for two months, will take a new role in the office of the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Commissioner Stephen Hahn told staff on Wednesday. The move comes just days after Hahn removed the agency’s top spokesperson, Emily Miller — a political appointee who served less than two weeks in the job.

The FDA’s communication strategy has been under significant scrutiny during the coronavirus pandemic — particularly after the agency last month gave emergency authorization for convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 patients despite scant evidence of its effectiveness. Hahn and Miller touted misleading data about the treatment, prompting an apology from Hahn after severe blowback from the medical community. Public health experts and Democratic lawmakers saw the episode as the latest evidence of the FDA being guided by pressure from President Donald Trump to deliver on coronavirus vaccines and treatments.

Both Wagner and Miller will be replaced by civil servants, who have traditionally held communication roles at the science-focused agency. The White House, however, is considering appointing political replacements for those roles, said two people with knowledge of the administration’s personnel strategy.

Hahn told staff that Heidi Rebello will act as associate commissioner for external affairs, replacing Wagner, who is a close ally of HHS spokesperson and longtime GOP operative Michael Caputo. Hahn also announced that Michael Felberbaum will serve as acting assistant commissioner for media affairs, replacing Miller, who remains at FDA in an advisory role.

Wagner will work on Operation Warp Speed, the joint HHS-Department of Defense effort to speed development of coronavirus vaccines and therapies, as well as other department communications efforts, said two individuals with knowledge of his next steps.

Some of Hahn’s predecessors through Twitter offered supportive messages for FDA’s new communications heads. Rebello and Felderbaum “are outstanding professionals who have a strong sense of the agency’s special public health mission, and deep expertise in its scope and inner workings,” wrote Scott Gottlieb, who was Trump’s first FDA commissioner.

FDA did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/02/fda-shake-up-comms-team-407688
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Dan Diamond

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