Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released the following statement as the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee is holding a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Dr. Joseph Ladapo to be State Surgeon General.
“Dr. Ladapo has proven himself time and time again to be anti-science and anti-public health. He’s a quack who shouldn’t be anywhere near our state’s Surgeon General office, let alone running it. I hope the Senate can come together in a bipartisan way to reject his nomination and protect our state from the dangerous policies and conspiracy theories he and Governor DeSantis have been promoting.”
In October, Commissioner Fried called on Governor DeSantis to immediately withdraw Dr. Ladapo’s confirmation for numerous issues, including promoting dangerous misinformation about COVID-19, issuing a discriminatory emergency rule for Black farmers applying for medical marijuana licensure, and his refusal to wear a mask at the request of Florida Senator Tina Polsky despite her recent breast cancer diagnosis. Dr. Ladapo was most recently criticized for promoting the use of monoclonal antibody treatments that are not effective against the omicron variant of COVID-19. Commissioner Fried has also spoken out about concerns the University of Florida fast-tracked Dr. Ladapo into a tenured university position at the encouragement of a major political donor and Board of Trustees chairman.
