Virginia Republican Morgan Griffith held his first hearing as the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health subcommittee on July 16. His recent appointment fills a vacancy at the top of the panel after Georgia Republican Earl L. “Buddy” Carter announced on July 2 that he was giving up the gavel to focus on his Senate campaign.
Griffith brings to the role a focus on opioid policy, including legislation he led in the House to permanently classify fentanyl analogs as controlled substances. On July 16, President Donald Trump signed into law the Senate version of that measure led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.
A member of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, Griffith was a vocal critic of COVID-19 health policies, taking particular issue with vaccine mandates. He also asserted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t provide Congress with enough information on how it planned to overhaul the agency in the wake of the pandemic.
