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# Califf Sworn In as FDA Commissioner
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/califf-sworn-in-as-fda-commissioner/
- Published: 2022-02-17T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:33:02.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5151193

FDA officially has a new commissioner after **Robert Califf** was sworn in 2/17\. Earlier in the week, the U.S. Senate narrowly voted 50 to 46 to approve Califf’s confirmation ([see earlier story](https://www.fdaweb.com/califf-confirmed-by-senate-in-slim-margin-vote/)). 

“The Senate made the right move this week by confirming Dr. Califf to lead the FDA,” said HHS secretary **Xavier Becerra** after he was sworn in. “The FDA is one of our nation’s most critical public health agencies and having a commissioner with Dr. Califf’s experience and expertise will ensure we are well positioned to combat Covid-19, the opioid crisis, and many other public health challenges. Dr. Califf can hit the ground running on these issues and more as a result of his previous service at the agency, and I look forward to working with him in this role.” 

In a [statement](https://twitter.com/DrCaliff%5FFDA/status/1494391024759803904?ref=fdaweb.com) released on his new Twitter account (@DrCaliff\_FDA), Califf said the agency will be committed to and rely on the best available science and most rigorous data in reaching its decisions. Presumably addressing the growing misinformation about Covid-19 and related health emergency actions, Califf said one of his priorities will be to counter “misinformation about science and the FDA that has become increasingly prevalent. These kinds of distortions and half-truths that find their way into the public domain do enormous harm, both by leading people to behavior that is detrimental to their health and by causing them to eschew interventions that would improve their health.” 

Another priority for Califf will be to “help speed development of new treatments and medical devices, across the medical landscape,” he said. And another priority is to strengthen FDA’s “response to the opioid and stimulant crisis that has had such tragic consequences for individuals and their families across our nation.”