Trump has launched an all-out attack on the FDA. Will its scientific integrity survive?

Presidents sparring with the FDA is not new, but recent moves from President Trump mark a new frontier for attacks from the White House on the regulatory agency. For instance, the administration recently installed a gun-rights advocate and right-wing journalist as the FDA's chief spokesperson, allowing for partisan communication from an agency that has historically put out apolitical messaging. Last weekend, Trump baselessly claimed that the FDA was part of a "deep state" conspiracy to harm his reelection campaign. Taken together with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn's misstatements in announcing the agency's emergency approval of convalescent plasma therapy, experts are concerned about the FDA's scientific credibility, especially when it has to seriously consider — and convince the public about — Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. Read more from STAT's Lev Facher in Washington here.