Ladapo grilled by Democrats, praised by Republicans in second confirmation hearing

Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo faced his second hearing before Florida senators Tuesday.

Democrats didn’t walk out this time.

Over the course of two separate sessions of the Ethics and Elections committee in one day, Ladapo faced questions from lawmakers for more than an hour and a half on a range of topics: the coronavirus pandemic, the current makeup of the state’s Department of Health, Ladapo’s experience and his past association with a controversial group.

Ladapo’s confirmation was once again recommended with all Republicans supporting the move and all Democrats opposed.

“I am very proud that you are the doctor of the state, and frankly I think most Floridians, if they’d heard this testimony and heard your expanded answers, they would agree with me,” Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Pensacola, told Ladapo just before the vote.

The questioning began with Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, whose meeting with Ladapo last year made national headlines after the surgeon general refused to don a mask in her office. Polsky at the time was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Polsky asked Ladapo pointed questions about the state’s efforts to distribute coronavirus vaccine booster shots, and about the doctor’s affiliation with America’s Frontline Doctors. That conservative group, which spoke out against coronavirus restrictions like business closures, hosted a news conference at which Ladapo spoke on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. More recently, some in the group have turned to anti-vaccine activism.

When asked to describe that organization, Ladapo first said he could not do so accurately. But he later said the group included his friends and colleagues, and that he was at the Supreme Court that day in 2020 to show his support for the group’s stance on respecting individual medical preferences.

“If the question is, ‘What does the organization do?’ I do know some of the things the organization does,” Ladapo said. “Do I feel qualified to describe what the organization stands for? Their positions on a variety of issues? Absolutely not.”

Ladapo’s answers did not satisfy Polsky, who at one point said the doctor was evading the committee’s questions — something Democrats accused the surgeon general of doing at his first committee stop as well.

About those vaccines?

In a subsequent round of questioning from Polsky, Ladapo once again declined to say whether he had been vaccinated for the coronavirus.

Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, asked Ladapo whether vaccines played an important role in ending past pandemics.

Ladapo responded “strictly speaking, to the best of my knowledge, no,” noting that outbreaks such as the 1918 flu pandemic faded without an effective vaccine.

However, other diseases, such as polio and smallpox, have been eradicated because of vaccines.

Sen. Lori Berman, D-Lantana, asked Ladapo a series of questions about the state’s high HIV rates and whether he supports the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. She also asked whether he would recommend the drug ivermectin for patients who’ve contracted the coronavirus.

Ladapo said he is reviewing the state’s HIV prevention efforts to see what has been effective and what has not. He noted Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed him, does not support the expansion of Medicaid. And he said he did not have enough clinical experience with ivermectin to answer Berman’s question with a yes or no.

Florida Poison Control Centers, a state-funded nonprofit, reported a spike in ivermectin-related calls over the summer as Floridians tried to treat themselves for COVID-19 with the drug amid its promotion by some prominent conservative groups despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration. The University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital are part of a nationwide study of ivermectin as a treatment for the virus. That study is ongoing.

Toward the end of the hearing, lawmakers squabbled over the amount of time Democrats spent questioning Ladapo. Broxson said their questions amounted to “hazing” and “badgering.”

Berman argued that an hour and a half of questions was appropriate given the stakes of Ladapo’s position.

As their votes showed, Democrats left the hearing unsatisfied with DeSantis’ choice. But the outcome was likely preordained.

Before the meeting even began, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat running for governor, re-upped appeals for the Senate to reject his confirmation, calling the Harvard-educated doctor a “quack.”

But with DeSantis as the standard-bearer for the Republican Party of Florida, which controls the Senate, that was never a likely outcome.

Ladapo’s confirmation heads next to the full Senate.

This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 9:03 PM.