Food and Drug Administration commissioner Marty Makary resigned on Tuesday amid reports that President Donald Trump was expected to fire him.
The New York Times, citing an official inside the FDA, said Makary resigned over concerns about the administration’s decision to allow fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, which he opposed. Republicans had also criticized Makary for not following through on a promise that the FDA would review the safety of the abortion medication mifepristone.
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Trump and other Republicans have pushed the FDA to reverse a Biden-era rule that allowed doctors to prescribe the drug through telemedicine.
Makary also faced ridicule from health leaders after the FDA released an unsupported memo claiming there were deaths related to COVID-19 vaccines. Criticisms continued after he eased restrictions on peptides, which are unproven compounds with uncertain effects, often celebrated by many within Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, which weighs in frequently on FDA decisions, told The Times that she’s worried about who might replace him.
“He has offended almost everyone involved in FDA issues, which is not easy to do,” Zuckerman said. “But it would still be a disaster if he is replaced by someone who appeals primarily to tobacco companies, anti-abortion activists” and pharmaceutical companies.
How did Makary clash with the White House?
The biggest faceoff between Makary and the White House was over fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.
Makary had opposed authorizing the products, believing they could make smoking attractive to children. But at the direction of the White House, the FDA quietly issued a policy Friday that allows companies to more easily market the fruity products.
Makary’s time at the department began with issues after Kennedy and Elon Musk, who at the time was leading the non-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, imposed budget cuts and laid off staff at the FDA.
Some of those cuts affected staff vital to the review of complex surgical devices, food manufacturer inspections and monitoring drug safety. While the FDA did eventually bring back many of those employees, another round of layoffs impacted another 4,000 staff members, about a fifth of the agency’s workforce.
Who is replacing Makary?
The Guardian reports that Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s top food official, will serve as acting commissioner. It is not known whether Trump will nominate Diamantas to replace Makary.
Trump had signed off on the plan to let Makary go earlier this month, according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump told reporters Tuesday that Makary is “a great guy.”
“He’s a great doctor and he was having some difficulty, but he’s going to go on and he’s going to do well,” Trump said. “Everybody wants that job.”
Vacancies remain in several key health positions. Senators have yet to confirm Nicole Saphier, Trump’s third pick for surgeon general, nor Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schwartz would be the CDC’s fifth director in a year.
Makary’s departure is the fourth high-profile official to leave the Trump administration this year. Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid a misconduct probe.
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