(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden is working to block former President Donald Trump from enacting his policies during a potential second term by imposing new regulations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to Politico.
“The White House fears Trump could try to advance an ideological agenda at the National Institutes of Health, like the ones he’s suggested on everything from vaccines to diversity policies,” the outlet reported.
Biden’s controversial plan involves establishing a council to review what he deems political interference within the federal agency, with Biden official Lyric Jorgenson at the helm of this undemocratic initiative.
“Interfering and manipulating science to hit a partisan agenda is inappropriate and is what we’re working to wall against,” Jorgenson said, likely indicating a move against potential Trump-led initiatives.
Jorgenson, who is also overseeing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seems to be part of Biden’s broader strategy to control key health agencies.
“The White House knows Trump could still cast those plans aside but is calculating that doing so will set off alarms with the media, Congress and the public,” Politico noted. “The Biden administration likely hopes GOP lawmakers, even those who think the NIH needs an overhaul, will temper Trump’s moves.”
Critics argue this maneuver is a desperate attempt by Biden to cling to power and stifle Trump’s agenda.
“NIH is ripe for drastic reform,” said Roger Severino in an interview with Politico. He worked at the HHS as the Office of Civil Rights head and now works at the Heritage Foundation.
The move appears to be a reaction to Trump’s previous stance on firing Dr. Anthony Fauci, the controversial former head of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci, who led the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently under intense scrutiny. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has called for Fauci’s prosecution, claiming he made the “worst decision ever made by a public official” concerning the virus’s origins.
“History should judge him as a deficient person who made one of the worst decisions in public health history — in the entire history of the world,” Paul said in an interview on WABC 770 AM’s The Cats Roundtable.
