On August 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Sean Keveney has been named Chief Counsel at the FDA. In a press release, HHS stated that Keveney most recently served as Acting General Counsel of HHS, where he led the Department's legal team in advancing key administration priorities and maintaining strict legal standards across public health programs.
“[T]he FDA is accomplishing things under the Trump Administration that few previously thought possible,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said in a statement. “Sean Keveney's appointment as our Chief Counsel reflects the talent and experience we have brought to FDA for the mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
“As Acting General Counsel at HHS, Keveney led the Department's work for the Trump Administration on one of the most successful discrimination crackdowns in American history,” the news release stated. “HHS found that Harvard University and Columbia University through their medical schools violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and completed Title VI investigations of Brown University and Duke University. The Trump Administration subsequently reached settlements with Columbia and Brown, requiring Columbia to undergo three years of independent monitoring for compliance with federal law, and prohibiting Brown from performing gender reassignment surgeries on minors or prescribing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to them.”
“Robert Foster, the Department's Principal Deputy General Counsel, will assume the role of Acting General Counsel of HHS. He will remain FDA Chief Counsel for Food, Research, and Drugs,” the agencies stated.
