On February 15, the Senate narrowly confirmed Dr. Robert Califf as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a bipartisan nail-biter, six Republicans supported him and four Democrats opposed him. Bernie Sanders, an independent, also voted against him, and another senator withheld his vote.

Califf—a cardiologist who has served as the deputy commissioner of the FDA’s Office of Medical Products and Tobacco, as President Barack Obama’s FDA commissioner, and as the head of medical strategy at Alphabet, Google’s parent company—takes over the position from Janet Woodcock, [...]