“Singing from the same song sheet” is a rather overused metaphor that describes a group of people or organizations aligned in the collective pursuit of a common goal. In Washington, it’s political speak for being on the same page, all wanting the same thing.

It’s practiced every day, with precision, in the way the Biden administration advances its broader policy agenda. It’s why we see government agency officials and White House representatives always in lockstep, on message, working together to promote the president’s objectives.

So it was a very rare moment when it came to light last month that Robert Califf, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, had privately urged fellow public health professionals to pressure the White House to make good on its 2021 pledge to ban menthol cigarettes.

Califf likely didn’t intend for those conversations to end up in Politico. But the fact he encouraged his network to lobby President Biden to honor that 2021 commitment reveals the FDA is at odds with its own administration’s attempts to stall implementation of the years-old Biden-proposed regulation.

Why has the Biden administration dragged its feet on this important public health initiative?........

© The Hill