Updates | The Week of April 3, 2017
The Trump Administration’s sluggish transition process may foreshadow fundamental changes to the administrative state, Peter Strauss argues at Take Care.
- Presidential candidates should release a list of proposed cabinet officials before leaving their nominating convention, Selim Savak and Lauren Sukin argue (WaPo).
- President Trump will nominate Dan Brouillette, a former Department of Energy (DOE) official under former President George W. Bush, as DOE’s deputy secretary (The Hill).
- Rod Rosenstein’s nomination to be the Deputy Attorney General is ready for consideration by the full Senate (The Hill).
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions questioned President Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Scott Gottlieb, in hearings on Wednesday (NYT, WaPo).
- Gottlieb identified nationwide opioid addiction as the agency’s “biggest crisis” (NYT).
- Senate Democrats have denounced Gottlieb’s nomination, citing his close ties to the pharmaceutical industry (The Hill).
- Charley Grant suggests that while Gottlieb is favored by the pharmaceutical industry, his confirmation may disadvantage some drug manufacturers (WSJ).
- At the Washington Post, David Shaywitz suggests that Gottlieb’s ties to the industry are an asset rather than a liability.
The Project on Government Oversight comments on President Trump’s proposed increase of funding from drug companies for the Food and Drug Administration.
Retired Gen. Stanley MyChrystal argues that pitting funding for public broadcasting and military expenditures against one another is a “false choice,” and that both make Americans safer (NYT).
Increased use of the Congressional Repeal Act to undo regulations promulgated by prior administrations may lead to more hastily developed regulations that undermine regulatory effectiveness, Stuart Shapiro explains (RegBlog).
At Just Security, Ganesh Sitaraman analyzes the national security consequences of deregulation.
President Trump lacks plenary power to regulate Indian Affairs, Seth Davis argues at Take Care.