Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NIH Director Collins Will Resign At End Of Year: Reports
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins plans to announce his resignation on Tuesday after nearly three decades at the agency, including 12 years at the helm, three sources tell POLITICO. The 71-year-old physician-geneticist led the agency under three consecutive presidents — making him the first presidentially appointed NIH director to serve in more than one administration and the longest-serving NIH director. (Wilson, Owermohle and Banco, 10/4)
After more than 12 years directing the nation’s premier biomedical research center, Collins, a 71-year-old physician-geneticist, will return to his lab at the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of NIH. He is the longest-tenured director of the Bethesda, Md.,-based NIH, which he ran through the Obama and Trump administrations and into the first year of the Biden presidency. No decision has been made on an interim director, an NIH official said. In the midst of the pandemic, President Biden will nominate a new director who must be confirmed by the evenly divided Senate. (Bernstein and Johnson, 10/4)
During Collins’ tenure at NIH, the agency’s budget grew by nearly a third and largely staved off major controversies. An evangelical Christian with a medical degree and Ph.D. in physical chemistry, Collins, 71, is among the most revered political figures in Washington — so much so that President Trump and President Biden, upon their elections, each chose to reappoint him to lead the agency. (Facher, 10/4)
