STAT December 9, 2025
Federal law governing the regulator-to-industry pipeline was written for a different era
Nothing corrodes public trust in a regulatory agency faster than the sense that its senior officials are auditioning for future jobs at the very companies they regulate.
At the Food and Drug Administration, that sense is no longer just perception; it is a clear pattern that illustrates how current post-employment rules fail to prevent the appearance (and too often the reality) of regulatory capture.
This became clearer than ever last summer when several senior career officials were removed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., only to immediately pop up in industry. A quick search of STAT’s running list of senior FDA officials who have...
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