The Senate HELP Committee gave a quick approval to Scott Gottlieb's nomination to head the Food and Drug Administration this morning, mostly along party lines. The only real disagreement was over Gottlieb's background as a consultant for drug companies, with Democrats charging that he'd have too many conflicts of interest. But Republicans said his consulting experience will be a positive, not a negative. Gottlieb has said he'll recuse himself as needed.
The debate in five seconds:
- "The extent of Dr. Gottlieb's entanglement with the companies he'll be overseeing is unprecedented." — Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.
- "I think we should step back and realize that we need in our government people with experience." — HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander