Biden chooses anti-police and anti-gun activist to head CDC.

Mandy Cohen: The Controversial Nominee for CDC Director

President Joe Biden’s likely nominee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, Mandy Cohen, has a controversial past. Cohen is the co-founder of Doctors for Obama, a medical advocacy group that supports a variety of radical left-wing causes.

Anti-Police and Anti-Gun Causes

Doctors for Obama, which later became Doctors for America, began as a pro-Obamacare group. However, in recent years, it has pushed Congress to ban semi-automatic rifles and treat gun violence as a public health crisis. The organization has also sided with the anti-police movement and launched a campaign to “demand an anti-racism curriculum in medical institutions.”

Cohen’s affiliation with the left-wing group could exacerbate what is already expected to be a tough confirmation battle. The Biden CDC has been under intense scrutiny thanks in large part to outgoing chief Rochelle Walensky’s support for pandemic quarantines, mask mandates, and school closures.

Controversial Coronavirus Policies

Cohen also pushed controversial coronavirus policies as director of the North Carolina Department of Health. In July 2021, she said schools should require kindergarten to eighth-grade students and staff members to “wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.” In August 2020, while donning a mask with the face of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Cohen called masks “one of our strongest tools” to slow the spread of coronavirus.

There is growing evidence that masks are far less effective at stopping viruses and that universal requirements in schools have hindered students’ classroom performance.

Endorsement of Defunding Police Departments

In 2021, Doctors for America endorsed proposals that would defund police departments, including a bill sponsored by Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) to scale “back the role of law enforcement.” The organization also sponsored a report with the left-wing Alliance for Safety and Justice that recommended a reduction in police funding to fund other agencies to deal with “mental health crisis” response.

Endorsement of Gun Control Proposals

Doctors for America has endorsed various gun control proposals. The group backed Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D., Calif.) 2013 proposal to outlaw “assault weapons that can accept a detachable ammunition magazine.” It urged Congress two years later to permit the CDC to research gun violence and to classify the issue as a “public health epidemic.” Republicans largely opposed allowing the CDC to conduct research, saying the federal government would use it to enact further gun control.

Legacy in the Medical Community

Cohen served as Doctors for America’s executive director through 2011, but she has maintained ties to the group since her departure. Doctors for America hailed Cohen’s “legacy” in 2021 after her election to the National Academy of Medicine.

Cohen did not respond to a request for comment.