House GOP seeks testimony on political interference in vaccine, booster approval

House Republican lawmakers have demanded that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provide documents and testimony regarding alleged political interference by the Biden administration in the vaccine approval process.

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and other Republicans wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf requesting that he provide documents and communications pertinent to their investigations by March 24.

"According to new internal U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) communications, it appears the Biden Administration may have bypassed, compressed, and possibly compromised the longstanding process for awarding a full biologics approval to a vaccine," the Republicans wrote. "This effort may not have been to save lives, but concernedly to provide cover for implementing and enforcing vaccine mandates across the country."

"The Biden Administration’s political interference in the impartial vaccine approval process is a recurring theme," they continued. "Last Congress, Select Subcommittee Republicans wrote to the FDA requesting information about potential political interference with the FDA’s booster shot approval process. In that letter, we inquired into President Biden’s announcement that booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine would be available to Americans starting September 20, 2021, prior to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or FDA concluding their independent reviews of the data."

"It was reported at the time that, this political push by Biden’s White House contributed to the decision of two top career scientists, Dr. Gruber and Dr. Krause to leave the FDA," they continued.

The lawmakers are further seeking direct testimony from former Office of Vaccine Research and Review Director Dr. Marion Gruber, former Deputy Director Dr. Phillip Krause, Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Dr. Peter Marks.

The information requests are part of a broader Republican-led effort to investigate the Biden administration and the first family's business dealings.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.