Senior officials within the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say they will resist President Donald Trump’s Executive Order making it easier to fire Federal employees.
The order, which Mr Trump issued on 21 October, would strip certain Public Service and due process protections from career Federal employees who make policy placing them in a new Schedule F category.
The officials see it as laying the groundwork for an across-the-board effort to replace long-time career scientists with political allies of the President.
Tensions between the Agency and Trump’s inner circle have grown over the past couple of months as White House aides have sparred with the FDA over efforts to fulfil the President’s failed vow of a COVID-19 vaccine before Election Day.
Now with the growing certainty the President has been defeated by Democratic rival Joe Biden in the election, there is confidence the Executive Order can be safely defied.
Acting Head of the FDA’s Drug Centre, Patrizia Cavazzoni (pictured ) has suggested she might submit a blank document if required to draw up a list of workers eligible for Schedule F, according to an FDA official familiar with the discussion.
The FDA is viewed as particularly vulnerable, given its heavy reliance on career scientists across a range of regulatory areas and its recent battles with top Trump aides over standards for COVID-19 vaccines.
White House officials have also previously discussed trying to stock Agencies like the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention with more political appointees in an effort to exert greater control over its decision-making.
An FDA spokesperson said the Agency “continues to evaluate the Executive Order to determine appropriate next steps”.
Washington, 6 November 2020
