White House installed OAN reporter as FDA spokesperson. She lasted 11 days

Enlarge / Emily Miller from her "reporting" days at OAN in 2016. Miller recently became the assistant commissioner and chief spokesperson for the FDA, and more recently became the former assistant commissioner and chief spokesperson for the FDA. (credit: YouTube)

The Food and Drug Administration has ousted its controversial chief spokesperson, Emily Miller, following botched communications about using blood plasma as a potential COVID-19 treatment, according to multiple media reports.

Miller, who held the position for just 11 days, aggressively defended FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn this week after he grossly misstated benefits of the treatment during a press briefing last Sunday. In the briefing, President Trump announced that the FDA had authorized emergency use of the treatment, despite reports that experts at the National Institutes of Health objected, saying the evidence was too weak to justify use. Though Hahn apologized for his misstatements, controversy over the authorization continued, raising questions about the credibility of the FDA and the independence of Hahn.

But even without that fiasco, Miller’s presence at the agency was controversial, drawing further concern that the traditionally apolitical agency has been politicized by the Trump Administration.

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