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Senate confirms Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner

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The Senate Dec. 12 voted 72-18 to confirm Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner.

Hahn, 59, is chief medical executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center and professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology.

On Dec. 3, members of the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions voted 18-5 to confirm Hahn (The Cancer Letter, Dec. 6). The White House announced its intention to nominate Hahn Nov. 1 (The Cancer Letter, Sept. 6, Nov. 1).

In his Senate confirmation hearing Nov. 20, Hahn acknowledged that the rise in e-cigarette use among youths “is an important, urgent crisis in this country,” but made no specific pledges as Democratic and Republican Senate members pressed him on whether he would resist pressure from the administration and lobbying groups. (The Cancer Letter, Nov. 22).

Once sworn in, Hahn will become the 24th FDA commissioner, succeeding Scott Gottlieb.

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