President Trump nominates Stephen Hahn as new FDA commissioner
JEN CHRISTENSEN, CNN
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byJEN CHRISTENSEN, CNN
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/AP via CNNDr. Stephen Hahn, current chief medical executive at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is President Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Dr. Stephen Hahn to be the next head of the US Food and Drug Administration.
The acting commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Ned Sharpless, will return to his role as the director of the National Cancer Institute, according to a press release from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
By law, Sharpless was only allowed to serve a total of 210 days under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. His tenure ended Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
Hahn is a well-known radiation oncology expert and is the current chief medical executive of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where has been a professor of radiation oncology since January 2015.
Asked to describe himself when he was appointed to the leadership position at MD Anderson, Hahn used one word: “Energetic.”
The 59-year-old will need that energy to run an agency that employs more than 17,000 people and has a $5.7 billion budget.
The agency protects public health by regulating much more than the food and drugs mentioned in the department’s name. The FDA regulates medical devices, tobacco, alcohol, veterinary products, vaccines, blood, microwave ovens, nail polish and much more.
Helping run the daily operations of MD Anderson, Hahn currently manages a $5.2 billion operating budget, 20,300 employees, 7,000 trainees and more than 3,000 volunteers, according to the hospital.
