• FDA and USDA employees furloughed during the 35-day partial government shutdown have returned to work this morning after the President signed legislation on Friday to temporarily reopen the government for 3 weeks.  While this is very good news, it will take some time before all activities are running smoothly again.
  • FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb’s recent tweets on starting back suggest that much of today will be spent on administrative issues.
  • We expect that government agencies will hold internal meetings in the next few days to prioritize matters that have accumulated since December 22, 2018.  The possibility remains for another shutdown if a long-term agreement on funding is not reached by February 15, 2019.