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> That does not make it non-political. The FDA has both political appointees and civil service roles, just like other government agencies. https://www.opm.gov/f

by timr 1y ago

> That does not make it non-political. The FDA has both political appointees and civil service roles, just like other government agencies. https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/political-app https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/political-app... OK, so which one is this position? Do you actually know? (Google tells me that the position of CBER director is officially non-political, though since Peter Marks was forced to resign, it's now "more political than before".) > lmao Yeah, you're not being partisan at all. I tell you that Prasad is a liberal (an extremely well-documented fact), and your response is..."lmao".

ceejayoz 1y ago
> OK, so which one is this position? Do you actually know? Yes, we do. His role is not a civil service one. > I tell you that Prasad is a liberal (an extremely well-documented fact), and your response is..."lmao". Go on, document it.
- timr 1y ago
  > Yes, we do. His role is not a civil service one. Incorrect. I just looked it up. It's a civil service appointment. > Go on, document it. He's said many, many times on his podcast(s), twitter and elsewhere that he's on the left, and that he voted for Sanders. So sure, I could dig each one of those up for you, or you could actually believe it when people on the right attack him for being a "lefist". Like this, for example: "Vinay Prasad Is a Bernie Sanders Acolyte in MAHA Drag" https://www.wsj.com/opinion/vinay-prasad-is-a-bernie-sanders-acolyte-in-maha-drag-healthcare-bfc3be57 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/vinay-prasad-is-a-bernie-sanders...
  - ceejayoz 1y ago
    > Incorrect. I just looked it up. It's a civil service appointment. I think you're mixing up "requires Senate confirmation" and the much broader "political appointee", but I'd welcome the cite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_appointments_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_appointments_in_the_... "According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is 'any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head'." (That'll be Makary.) > "Vinay Prasad Is a Bernie Sanders Acolyte in MAHA Drag" A WSJ oped is not documentation. > that he voted for Sanders Yeah, that's not proof either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanders%E2%80%93Trump_voters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanders%E2%80%93Trump_voters
    - timr 1y ago
      I'm not going to dig through every hour of his podcast to find all the times that he said himself that he is on the left and voted for Sanders. If you're that motivated, you can easily go listen to him, and then you might actually know something. > I think you're mixing up "requires Senate confirmation" and the much broader "political appointee", but I'd welcome the cite. I'm not mixing it up. It's a civil role. Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER since circa 2012. He was a civil servant. Nothing about the position has changed since he left. He resigned, and Makary recruited Prasad. By your standards of "appointment", every job in my life has been a political appointment by my boss.
      - ceejayoz 1y ago
        > I'm not mixing it up. It's a civil role. You said you looked it up. Should be an easy cite. > Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER. He was a civil servant. Those aren't mutually exclusive statuses. Some State Department ambassadors are long-term civil servants; others are political appointees. https://www.newsweek.com/who-vinay-prasad-rfk-jr-taps-pharma-critic-lead-fda-vaccine-program-2068776 https://www.newsweek.com/who-vinay-prasad-rfk-jr-taps-pharma... "Prasad's new role has traditionally been held by an FDA career scientist" > By your standards of "appointment", every job in my life has been a political appointment by my boss. If you were appointed by Federal agency heads, sure. They're the encyclopedia's standards, not mine.
      - mrkeen 1y ago
        > Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER since circa 2012. Peter Marks was dismissed by RFK over vaccines. > Nothing about the position has changed since he left. I can't dispute this, so what conclusion is left other than Prasad will keep his job to the extent that he agrees with RFK on vaccines.
        timr 1y ago
        I actually agree with you (I mean, you're just stating facts). But the other commenter is trying to spin this simple fact as a "political appointment", when every job is "you serve at the pleasure of your boss". Only government work has had this strange notion of perma-employment, where nobody can fire you, lest it become "political". So you pile up corrupt morons like Peter Marks and Ashish Jha... Anyway, it seems to me that the subtext here is that nobody can serve in this administration or they get attacked for being on the wrong side by partisan hacks. I'm actually happy that someone as competent as Prasad made it to a position of power -- it's one of the few bright spots in government right now. He's someone who has made a lot of enemies by standing up to pharma corruption, and I don't know if any other administration would ever have given him the kind of authority needed to clean house.

by timr 1y ago

ceejayoz 1y ago

> OK, so which one is this position? Do you actually know? Yes, we do. His role is not a civil service one. > I tell you that Prasad is a liberal (an extremely well-documented fact), and your response is..."lmao". Go on, document it.

timr 1y ago
> Yes, we do. His role is not a civil service one. Incorrect. I just looked it up. It's a civil service appointment. > Go on, document it. He's said many, many times on his podcast(s), twitter and elsewhere that he's on the left, and that he voted for Sanders. So sure, I could dig each one of those up for you, or you could actually believe it when people on the right attack him for being a "lefist". Like this, for example: "Vinay Prasad Is a Bernie Sanders Acolyte in MAHA Drag" https://www.wsj.com/opinion/vinay-prasad-is-a-bernie-sanders-acolyte-in-maha-drag-healthcare-bfc3be57 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/vinay-prasad-is-a-bernie-sanders...
- ceejayoz 1y ago
  > Incorrect. I just looked it up. It's a civil service appointment. I think you're mixing up "requires Senate confirmation" and the much broader "political appointee", but I'd welcome the cite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_appointments_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_appointments_in_the_... "According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is 'any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head'." (That'll be Makary.) > "Vinay Prasad Is a Bernie Sanders Acolyte in MAHA Drag" A WSJ oped is not documentation. > that he voted for Sanders Yeah, that's not proof either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanders%E2%80%93Trump_voters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanders%E2%80%93Trump_voters
  - timr 1y ago
    I'm not going to dig through every hour of his podcast to find all the times that he said himself that he is on the left and voted for Sanders. If you're that motivated, you can easily go listen to him, and then you might actually know something. > I think you're mixing up "requires Senate confirmation" and the much broader "political appointee", but I'd welcome the cite. I'm not mixing it up. It's a civil role. Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER since circa 2012. He was a civil servant. Nothing about the position has changed since he left. He resigned, and Makary recruited Prasad. By your standards of "appointment", every job in my life has been a political appointment by my boss.
    - ceejayoz 1y ago
      > I'm not mixing it up. It's a civil role. You said you looked it up. Should be an easy cite. > Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER. He was a civil servant. Those aren't mutually exclusive statuses. Some State Department ambassadors are long-term civil servants; others are political appointees. https://www.newsweek.com/who-vinay-prasad-rfk-jr-taps-pharma-critic-lead-fda-vaccine-program-2068776 https://www.newsweek.com/who-vinay-prasad-rfk-jr-taps-pharma... "Prasad's new role has traditionally been held by an FDA career scientist" > By your standards of "appointment", every job in my life has been a political appointment by my boss. If you were appointed by Federal agency heads, sure. They're the encyclopedia's standards, not mine.
    - mrkeen 1y ago
      > Peter Marks was the prior head of CBER since circa 2012. Peter Marks was dismissed by RFK over vaccines. > Nothing about the position has changed since he left. I can't dispute this, so what conclusion is left other than Prasad will keep his job to the extent that he agrees with RFK on vaccines.
      - timr 1y ago
        I actually agree with you (I mean, you're just stating facts). But the other commenter is trying to spin this simple fact as a "political appointment", when every job is "you serve at the pleasure of your boss". Only government work has had this strange notion of perma-employment, where nobody can fire you, lest it become "political". So you pile up corrupt morons like Peter Marks and Ashish Jha... Anyway, it seems to me that the subtext here is that nobody can serve in this administration or they get attacked for being on the wrong side by partisan hacks. I'm actually happy that someone as competent as Prasad made it to a position of power -- it's one of the few bright spots in government right now. He's someone who has made a lot of enemies by standing up to pharma corruption, and I don't know if any other administration would ever have given him the kind of authority needed to clean house.