Has Daschle departure changed Steven Nissen’s FDA commissioner status?

Dr. Steven Nissen

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A decision on the nominee for U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner was expected this week, and it seemed increasingly likely that the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steven Nissen would not get the job.

But the news today that Tom Daschle withdrew as the nominee for head of the Department for the Health and Human Services may have changed things — or delayed them.

“After today and what happened with Daschle, nobody knows what’s going to happen,” Nissen said.

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An announcement for FDA commissioner this week would mean the candidate had already been vetted by the White House, according to the RPM Report. Daschle had talked to the two favorites: Duke cardiologist Robert Califf and Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein.

Califf is also supported by Sen. Ted Kennedy, while Sharfstein is backed by Sen. Henry Waxman. And one North Carolina paper wrote today that Califf will get the nomination despite the changes.

Nissen still makes many people’s Top 10 list of candidates for the job. Some have said he’s been auditioning for the post for the last two years. His name fell off the radar for a time during. But late last month, Nissen stepped back into the media spotlight when he delivered a stinging critique of the FDA.

Nissen wouldn’t say whether he talked to anyone in Washington. But he did said, “I don’t have any inside information.”