President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set for a Senate vote next week after the upper chamber’s top Democrat filed cloture on the nomination on Feb. 10. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) filed cloture on the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf even as some Democrats continued to express opposition to the pick, who is not assured a confirmation in the divided Senate. Confirming Califf would be “the absolute worst thing that could happen to our country and the FDA,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told reporters at the Capitol in Washington. Manchin has vowed to vote against Califf, as have Sens. Massie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has indicated he will not vote for the nominee. A simple majority is needed to confirm Califf, who would be the first Senate-confirmed FDA director since Biden took …