CDC Chief’s Stock Drama Was An Ethical Blemish New HHS Head Alex Azar Wasn’t Going To Tolerate
Brenda Fitzgerald offered her letter of resignation as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after news came out that she had bought tobacco stocks while serving as one of the nation's top public health officials. Ethicists were confounded by the decision. It's unclear whether new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar demanded her resignation, but in recent weeks he's specifically told associates that he'd take a hard line on any ethical problems in the department.
Politico:
Why The CDC Director Had To Resign
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had planned to send a clear message to Congress and his new boss in the White House that he would not tolerate ethically questionable behavior. That opportunity came faster than expected after POLITICO reported Tuesday that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had traded in tobacco stocks while she led the agency. (Cancryn and Haberkorn, 1/31)
Stat:
CDC Director's Investment In Tobacco, Drug Companies Baffles Ethicists
It was a financial investment in a tobacco company that helped lead to the downfall of Brenda Fitzgerald, who until Wednesday was the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For many in the public health community, the notion that the head of the CDC held shares of a company in an industry that has been so anathema to the agency’s mission was shocking. But Fitzgerald also purchased shares in pharma giants Merck and Bayer after taking over the CDC — an apparent conflict of interest that also confounded government ethics experts. (Branswell, 1/31)
Modern Healthcare:
In Wake Of Fitzgerald Resignation, Ethics Experts Call For Tougher Scrutiny Of Conflicts Of Interest
Ethics wonks hope that the latest high-profile resignation from HHS will spur the Trump administration to be more aggressive in addressing conflicts of interest among top policymakers. Nearly every major healthcare leader picked by the administration has raised Washington insider concerns about whether they can effectively do their jobs despite major ties to various industries. (Dickson, 1/31)
The New York Times:
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, C.D.C. Director, Resigns Over Tobacco And Other Investments
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resigned on Wednesday, in the middle of the nation’s worst flu epidemic in nearly a decade, because of her troubling financial investments in tobacco and health care companies that posed potential conflicts of interest. (Kaplan, 1/31)
Politico:
CDC Director Who Traded Tobacco Stock Resigns
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's resignation comes one day after POLITICO reported that one month into her tenure as CDC director, she bought shares in a tobacco company. Fitzgerald had long championed efforts to cut tobacco use, which is the leading cause of preventable death. (Ehley and Karlin-Smith, 1/31)
The Associated Press:
CDC Director Resigns Over Financial Conflicts Of Interest
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's complex financial investments presented conflicts that made it difficult to do her job, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. In an ethics agreement filed in September, Fitzgerald had said that legal and contractual restrictions prevented her from selling the two investments. The new HHS head, Alex Azar, who took office on Monday, accepted her resignation Wednesday after discussing the investments with her and their effect on her work. (1/31)
The Washington Post:
CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald Resigns Because Of Conflicts Over Financial Interests
Fitzgerald, 71, a physician who served as the Georgia public health commissioner until her appointment to the CDC post in July, said in an interview late last year that she already had divested from many stock holdings. But she and her husband were legally obligated to maintain other investments in cancer detection and health information technology, according to her ethics agreement, requiring Fitzgerald to pledge to avoid government business that might affect those interests. (Sun, 1/31)
The Wall Street Journal:
CDC Director Quits After Report She Bought Tobacco Stocks
Lawmakers in Washington had grown increasingly frustrated over Dr. Fitzgerald’s conflicts from the health-care-related investments, after she was forced on a few occasions to recuse herself and send deputies to testify before Congress on the nation’s opioid crisis and emergency-preparedness issues. Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), the senate Health Committee’s top Democrat, said Dr. Fitzgerald’s resignation represents “yet another example of this Administration’s dysfunction and questionable ethics.” Dr. Fitzgerald has said that she was trying to divest the holdings, and that she was able to engage in policy work. (McKay and Hackman, 1/31)
Los Angeles Times:
CDC Director Resigns Over Financial Conflicts Including Stock In Tobacco, Beer And Soda Companies
Fitzgerald, though praised by some in public health after she was appointed, has maintained a relatively low profile as CDC director, particularly compared to many of her predecessors who have been outspoken champions for issues such as smoking cessation. Dr. Tom Frieden, for example, who headed the CDC under President Obama, already was a leading national champion for cutting tobacco use and tackling obesity, both of which he had done as commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Fitzgerald, in contrast, canceled her first scheduled appearance before Congress last fall to discuss the opioid epidemic, citing potential conflicts of interest because she continued to hold investments in companies involved in the public health crisis. (Levey, 1/31)
The Hill:
CDC Loses Director Amid Flu Outbreak
The abrupt resignation Wednesday of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comes at a difficult time for the agency, with officials fighting a deadly flu outbreak even as they seek to beat back proposed budget cuts from the White House. The CDC is always on the front lines dealing with public health threats, and it has been working overtime this year to address drug shortages and an unusually active flu season. (Hellmann, 1/31)
Bloomberg:
Trump’s CDC Director Steps Down After Tobacco Stock Scandal
The exit of Brenda Fitzgerald as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is another black eye for the U.S. Health Department, which last year saw the departure of then-health secretary Tom Price after it was revealed that he had traveled extensively on private jets at taxpayer expense. “Dr. Fitzgerald’s tenure was unfortunately the latest example of the Trump administration’s dysfunction and lax ethical standards,” Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement. (Edney, 1/31)
Stat:
CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald Resigns Following Controversy Over Stocks
Fitzgerald, a longtime OB-GYN from Georgia, served as that state’s public health commissioner before being named head of the CDC. (Branswell, 1/31)
Modern Healthcare:
Fitzgerald's Resignation Comes As CDC Faces Huge Funding Cuts
Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of the Harris County Public Health department in Texas and president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said the White House should name a permanent director soon to help advocate against funding cuts as the threat of a second government shutdown looms if Congress fails to pass a spending bill by Feb. 8.
"You cannot rely on an interim director for an extended period of time without over time having an impact on activities within that organization and outside of that organization," Shah said. (Johnson, 1/31)
The Washington Post:
‘Using His Position For Private Gain’: Ben Carson Was Warned He Might Run Afoul Of Ethics Rules By Enlisting His Son
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson allowed his son to help organize an agency “listening tour” in Baltimore last summer despite warnings from department lawyers that doing so risked violating federal ethics rules, according to internal documents and people familiar with the matter. ... The officials also told Cruciani that Carson Jr. and his wife asked that Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, be invited. A little less than three months later, according to federal records, CMS awarded a $485,000 contract to the consulting company Myriddian, whose chief executive is Merlynn Carson. Carson Jr. identifies himself online as one of Myriddian’s board members. The contract was awarded without a competitive bidding process, federal records show, although a CMS spokesman said multiple minority-owned firms were considered. (Eilperin and Gillum, 1/31)