Food and Drug Commissioner
The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the nomination on June 15, 2005, and Crawford was confirmed by the Senate on July 18, 2005 by a vote of 78-16, with six senators not voting. [7]
Crawford resigned on September 23, 2005, just a few short months later, in a surprise announcement. He denied that allegations of financial improprieties were the reason for his departure. [8] Bush nominated Andrew von Eschenbach to succeed Crawford. Crawford joined a Washington lobbying firm, Policy Directions Inc.
On April 28, 2006, Crawford's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, announced that he was being investigated by a grand jury over accusations of financial improprieties and false statements to Congress. [9] [10]
On October 16, 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Crawford with lying and violating conflict-of-interest laws for falsely reporting his ownership of stock in companies regulated by the FDA. He falsely stated in a 2004 government filing that he and his wife sold their shares of Sysco and Kimberly-Clark, when in fact they continued to hold them, and also failed to disclose income from exercising stock options in Embrex Inc. [11]
Melquíades Rafael Ruiz Martínez is a Cuban-American lobbyist and former politician who served as a United States senator from Florida from 2005 to 2009 and as general chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007. Previously, Martínez served as the 12th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush. Martínez is a Cuban-American and Roman Catholic. He announced he was resigning as general chairman of the Republican National Committee on October 19, 2007.
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the Senate, making him the longest-tenured U.S. Senator in the state's history. To date, Domenici is the last Republican to be elected to the Senate from New Mexico. He was succeeded by Democratic U.S. Representative Tom Udall.
John William Warner III was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009. Warner served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2003 to 2007. He also served as the Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee from 1995 to 1999.
Earl Benjamin Nelson is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and as of 2023, the last Democrat to hold any statewide elected office in Nebraska.
Charles Timothy Hagel is an American military veteran and former politician who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 1997 to 2009 and as the 24th United States secretary of defense from 2013 to 2015 in the Obama administration.
John Eric Ensign is an American veterinarian and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 2001 until his resignation in 2011 amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his attempts to hide an extramarital affair. A member of the Republican Party, Ensign previously represented Nevada's 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Following his resignation from the Senate, Ensign returned to Nevada and resumed his career as a veterinarian.
Byron Leslie Dorgan is an American author, businessman and former politician who served as a United States Representative (1981–1992) and United States Senator (1992–2011) from North Dakota. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Robert Jones Portman is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 2006 to 2007, the 14th United States trade representative from 2005 to 2006, and a U.S. representative from 1993 to 2005, representing Ohio's 2nd district.
Thomas Allen Coburn was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 2005 to 2015. A Republican, Coburn previously served as a United States representative from 1995 to 2001.
The 2006 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, 2006, with all 33 Class 1 Senate seats being contested. The term of office for those elected in 2006 ran from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2013. Prior to the election cycle, the Republican Party controlled 55 of the 100 Senate seats.
Sheldon Whitehouse is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 and the 71st attorney general of Rhode Island from 1999 to 2003.
Andrew C. von Eschenbach was the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration from 2006 to 2009. He became acting Commissioner on September 26, 2005, after the resignation of his predecessor Lester Crawford, and was confirmed as Commissioner by the Senate on December 7, 2006. He was previously the 12th director of the National Cancer Institute.
D. Kyle Sampson was the chief of staff and counselor of United States attorney general Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States attorneys in 2006 and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010. In October 2007, Sampson joined the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP as a partner in the firm's food and drug practice, where his practice focuses on FDA regulatory and enforcement matters.
The 2004 presidential campaign of Joe Lieberman, the long-time United States Senator from Connecticut and the vice-presidential nominee under Al Gore in the previous election, began on January 13, 2003, when he announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination as a candidate in the 2004 presidential election. Describing his Presidential hopes, Lieberman opined that his historically hawkish stance would appeal to voters. Prior to his defeat in New Hampshire, Lieberman famously declared his campaign was picking up "Joementum". On February 3, 2004, Lieberman withdrew his candidacy after failing to win any of the five primaries or two caucuses held that day. He acknowledged to the Hartford Courant that his support for the war in Iraq was a large part of his undoing with voters. Lieberman's former running candidate Al Gore did not support Lieberman's Presidential run, and in December 2003 endorsed Howard Dean's candidacy, saying "This is about all of us and all of us need to get behind the strongest candidate [Dean]."
The United States commissioner of food and drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by the Senate. The commissioner reports to the secretary of health and human services.
Rick Dantzler is an American lawyer, former Florida politician, and a member of the Democratic Party. From Winter Haven, Dantzler served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990, and in the Florida Senate from 1990 to 1998. He was Buddy MacKay's running mate in the 1998 Florida gubernatorial election; they lost to Jeb Bush and Frank Brogan. From 2014 to 2017, Dantzler was President Obama's appointed Florida State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency.
Robert McKinnon Califf is an American cardiologist who currently serves as the 25th Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Stephen Ostroff is an American physician. He served as acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from April 1, 2015, to February 21, 2016.
Scott Gottlieb is an American physician and investor who served as the 23rd commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from May 2017 until April 2019. He is presently a senior fellow at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a member of the board of directors of drug maker Pfizer, Inc, a member of the board of directors of Illumina, Inc., a contributor to the cable financial news network CNBC, and a frequent guest on the CBS News program Face the Nation. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Gottlieb is the author of The New York Times best selling book Uncontrolled Spread on the COVID-19 pandemic and the national security vulnerabilities that it revealed.
