Inside FDA, career staffers describe how political pressure is influencing their work A long tradition of separating politics and science is at risk, insiders say

https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/fda-under-trump-rfk-jr-staff-describe-political-pressure/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9j6bTgGIqcrsPH01Je4HKeCYCLgXYDctQ0BGsaSmR5Ee4lnEnzfKUkQ6XGIK2lDs8TOB7VPepPJtP_kslWKxVAirG3Eg&_hsmi=384989941&utm_content=384989941&utm_source=hs_email Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure atop HHS has been marked by increasing tension between career scientists and political leaders at health agencies. That tension is nearing a breaking point at the FDA, according to interviews with more than 20 current and former agency officials, as well as legal experts. That breaking point arrived after agency scientists received an unusual inquiry in August from the leader of the center that regulates prescription medicines to learn more about leucovorin as part of Kennedy’s bid to identify autism’s root cause by September. Experts say the push to approve leucovorin, a generic drug that’s mainly used to alleviate side effects of cancer treatment, as an autism treatment is a sign that the U.S. is headed toward a new era of drug regulation: one where political decisions lead, and evidence follows. More details from inside the agency from STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence.