BREAKING: White House Reportedly Pressured FDA Chief, Was Told to Approve Pfizer Vaccine by End of the Day or Update His Resume

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An FDA advisory panel signed off on the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday, which means the agency is likely to do the same very soon.

But apparently FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn received some pressure from the White House to expedite that process by the end of today or else his job might be at risk.

The Washington Post broke news Friday that in a call earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Hahn “to submit his resignation if the agency does not clear the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine by day’s end.”

Axios also reported the conversation took place, saying that Meadows “hinted to Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn on a phone call Friday that his job security might be in jeopardy as he pushed the FDA chief to approve Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day.”

An anonymous White House official responded to the reports saying, “We don’t comment on private conversations, but the Chief regularly requests updates on progress toward a vaccine.”

Hahn said in a response to Axios it was “an untrue representation of the phone call with the Chief of Staff.”

Reports of the call came out hours after President Donald Trump publicly attacked Hahn, accusing him of ‘playing games” for not approving the vaccines quicker and saying the agency “is still a big, old, slow turtle.”

While my pushing the money drenched but heavily bureaucratic @US_FDA saved five years in the approval of NUMEROUS great new vaccines, it is still a big, old, slow turtle. Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020

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