WASHINGTON — Staff at the nation’s health agencies suspect political interference is inappropriately influencing government policymaking, but they’re not reporting it, according to a new report from a government watchdog.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, all observed political interference, according to the report from the Government Accountability Office. They did not report it either due to fear of retaliation, a belief that higher-ups were already aware of the pressure, or because they did not know how to report it.