Marty Makary departs FDA after clashes with Trump over fruit-flavored vapes | Trump administration

Marty Makary resigned as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday, ending a 13-month tenure at the regulatory agency that often drew the ire of the White House, Congress, industry and the public, Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday.

Kyle Diamantas, who previously worked as the agency’s top food official setting the strategic direction and operations of U.S. food policy, will replace Makary on an interim basis. Trump called Diamantas “a very talented person” in a Truth Social article, confirming that he would be Makary’s temporary replacement.

Politico was first to report Makary’s resignation and replacement.

Trump approved a plan to fire Makary earlier this month, after the president chastised the FDA chief for failing to approve fruit-flavored vapes, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“He looks good,” Trump responded Friday when asked about Makary. Asked if he would fire Makary, Trump responded: “I’ve read about it, but I don’t know anything about it. »

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House that Makary was “a great guy” but was “having some challenges.”

“He’s a great doctor and he had some struggles, but he’s going to keep going and he’s going to do well. Everybody wants this job,” Trump added.

In a Truth Social article, Trump thanked Makary “for doing a great job at the FDA” and said “much was accomplished under his leadership. He was a hard worker, respected by all, and he will go on to have an exceptional career in medicine.”

Makary initially overrode agency scientists to hold up approval of the first fruit vapes on the market before the FDA announced approval would move forward last week.

Vapes weren’t the first position Makary took as FDA chief. He also clashed with lawmakers on Capitol Hill over drug regulatory decisions and a review of the abortion drug mifepristone, which conservative members of Congress accused him of walking slowly. There is plenty of scientific evidence about the safety and importance of mifepristone.

The FDA also reportedly stopped publishing research on the safety of shingles and Covid vaccines, demonstrating a “tendency” to “not release information that could support the overall safety of vaccines,” said Janet Woodcock, former acting FDA commissioner. Other controversial vaccine decisions included refusing to consider Moderna’s new flu vaccine, a decision that was quickly reversed after public backlash.

The Trump administration has been reluctant to discuss unpopular changes to routine vaccine recommendations ahead of the midterm elections.

“Vaccines have really gotten their attention,” said Peter Lurie, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and former associate commissioner at the FDA. “They understand that they have gone too far for the American people when it comes to vaccines.”

The FDA’s “mismanagement and botched drug reviews” have “chilled investments in innovative, life-saving treatments,” Darin LaHood, a Republican congressman from Illinois, said at the House Ways and Means Committee’s budget hearing last month. Ron Johnson, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, said in March he was investigating the FDA for rejecting treatments for rare diseases.

Waves of layoffs and the appointment of inexperienced officials have created a “massive upheaval that has characterized the daily work of the FDA since the start of the new administration,” Lurie said. “It’s just endless chaos.”

Concerns have also been raised about revised clinical trial guidelines, new Commissioner Priority Review Vouchers, and “no data” regulatory decisions.

In response to Makary’s headline-grabbing resignation, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley called it “good news.”

“Dr. Makary has been particularly destructive to the pro-life movement. He has attempted to place pro-abortion advocates in key positions. He has slowly led a life-saving overhaul of the abortion drug mifepristone. He has used his discretion to approve a new abortion drug when data shows it sends 1 in 10 women to the emergency room. He has excluded pro-life leaders and repeatedly obstructed Congress. His resignation is an opportunity for the FDA to reset,” writes Hawley on X.

Several key positions within the Trump administration still remain vacant. Neither Nicole Saphier, Trump’s third choice for US surgeon general, nor Erica Schwartz, who would be the fifth director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year, have yet undergone the confirmation process before the Senate. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, is temporarily leading the CDC.