House Judiciary Probing Claims That Biden Admin Pressured FDA to Rush COVID-19 Booster Approvals

The House Judiciary Committee is currently conducting an investigation to determine if the Biden administration gave undue pressure to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hasten its approval process of COVID-19 booster shots.

The letters sent out on April 10 by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust to former and current FDA officials requested copies of all files and materials related to the approval, review, and promotion of all COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Additionally, he asked for documents related to the resignation of Dr. Marion Gruber and Dr. Philip Krause from the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR).

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), received a letter from Massie, stating that “the Committee on the Judiciary is investigating allegations that the Biden Administration interfered in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization and licensure of the COVID-19 vaccines” and that “two top FDA vaccine officials resigned in the wake of President Biden’s premature and rushed announcement in August 2021 calling for adults to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, which put undue pressure on FDA health officials to quickly authorize the vaccinations.”

Gruber and Krause filled the roles of director and deputy director of the OVRR until their respective resignations, after which Marks was elevated to acting director. Last July, the nonprofit Judicial Watch released emails revealing that Gruber expressed concerns about drug companies and the Biden administration pressuring the FDA to hasten the review and authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, proposing timelines that “make no sense.”

The two doctors co-authored an article published by The Lancet in September 2021 arguing against widespread COVID-19 booster shots. They claimed that such shots were not supported by evidence and could be dangerous if introduced too soon or too frequently.

Massie cited this in his April 10 letters, asserting that the administration violated its earlier pledge to “listen to science” and “ensure public” and that Biden’s abrupt booster shot announcement caused undue pressure on FDA officials to speed up the vaccine’s authorization process.