PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s confirmation was voted through the Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Feb. 8, and will move to the full Senate for a vote on Feb. 15.
The committee voted 5–4 along party lines in favor of Ladapo’s confirmation, despite opposition from Democrats, who said he has “failed to promote COVID-19 vaccines, masks, and other measures” to reduce the spread of the virus. It was the second hearing for Ladapo, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, on Sept. 21, 2020, to replace Dr. Scott Rivkees, whose appointment had ended.
Democrats on the committee made their concerns known during the Feb. 8 hearing, questioning Ladapo on whether he had been vaccinated and boosted.
Ladapo declined to affirm or deny his vaccination status.
“It is my private medical information,” he said. “Our approach at the Department of Health has been to provide education and access. What we have seen during this pandemic has been not so much that, but rather coercion and sometimes—unfortunately—propaganda.”
Ladapo, the son of Nigerian immigrants, is a graduate of Harvard Medical School. Before coming to Florida as surgeon general, he had worked as a physician and researcher at the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition to being surgeon general, he works on research projects at the University of Florida. He told the committee that he’s also currently working on a weight-loss project.
Democratic lawmakers continued to question Ladapo on other topics, including a negative review he received while at UCLA that came to light during a background check.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a former supervisor wrote: “In my opinion, the people of Florida would be better served by a Surgeon General who grounds his policy decisions and recommendations on the best scientific evidence rather than opinions.”
However, the anonymous supervisor said Ladapo had “met all of the contractual obligations for the position that he was hired to perform, which is the underpinning of my otherwise satisfactory evaluation.”
No other derogatory information was found in the background check.
Ladapo didn’t comment on that topic during the hearing, other than to say that other colleagues had written letters of recommendation for him.
The questioning began with state Sen. Tina Polsky, a Democrat, who had issues with Ladapo in October 2021, when he refused to wear a mask during a meeting in her office. At the time, she was going through treatments for breast cancer. She also pressed him on his attendance at an event in July 2020 held in front of the Supreme Court with America’s Frontline Doctors. He was seen with other doctors dressed in white coats, speaking about alternative treatments to COVID-19, such as zinc and an anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, as well as the mental health effects of lockdowns.
Ladapo told Polsky and her fellow lawmakers that he joined the group because he supports “individual autonomy” in public health.
“What they stood for that I supported then—and still support now—is the importance of recognizing individual autonomy when making public health policy,” he said. “That is something that I have been consistently supportive of in terms of the importance of recognizing and respecting the individual preferences and diversity of perspectives and opinions.”
When asked about ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, Ladapo said the science remains “unsettled” and that he believes patients should always consult with their doctors.
At the end of the confirmation hearing, Democrats said Ladapo’s positions weren’t “aligned with most public health experts” and are a “threat to Floridians.”
State Sen. Randolph Bracy, a Democrat, told Ladapo: “Your policy positions are dangerous.”
At his first confirmation hearing on Jan. 26, Democrats walked out in protest before the vote took place because, they said, they were “not getting their questions answered.”
However, one Republican lawmaker had had enough of what he called “badgering” and spoke out in the doctor’s defense.
“We have gone through a hazing and a badgering of this witness, who has been giving, in my estimation, incredible responses, [with] incredible patience to very suspicious questions,” state Rep. Doug Broxson said.
Republicans on the committee unanimously recommended Ladapo’s confirmation.
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