Vice President Kamala Harris has come under fire after referring to the “Federal Drug Administration” during a recent interview with Noticias Telemundo’s Vanessa Hauc. In reality, the correct agency responsible for approving drugs is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
During the interview, Harris spoke about abortion and the constitutional rights of women in the United States. The Vice President then turned her attention to mifepristone, an abortion pill approved by the FDA in 2000.
Harris claimed that a case challenging the FDA’s approval of the drug, which was brought on by pro-life doctors and medical groups, challenges not the pill directly but whether the FDA acted appropriately when it approved the drug more than 20 years ago. She further added that the politicians have found a specific court to take a medication off the market, which was approved 20 years ago by the Federal Drug Administration.
Harris’s slip of the tongue has led to criticism from Republicans, who have called her out on social media for her supposed lack of knowledge on government agencies. Some also accused Harris of trying to deflect from the issue at hand, which was the Supreme Court’s ruling on access to the abortion pill.
The Supreme Court had ruled on the same day that full access to the abortion pill could continue as the lawsuit works its way through the lower federal courts. The case reached the Supreme Court after a Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge issued a ruling that sided with pro-life groups by halting the FDA approval of mifepristone.
In conclusion, Harris’s mistake, while minor, has drawn attention to the importance of government officials having knowledge of government agencies and their responsibilities. It remains to be seen whether this slip of the tongue will have any lasting impact on Harris’s reputation.