FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigns after weeks of pressure.
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
By CHRISTINA JEWETT
Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned Tuesday, after weeks of pressure and rumors that President Donald Trump was planning to fire him.
Makary ultimately left over concerns about the administration’s decision to authorize fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, an action he opposed, according to four people familiar with the matter. Makary told those close to him that he could not in good conscience approve flavored vapes, given their appeal to young people, and would not do something he did not believe in.
His departure caps a tumultuous run at the helm of an agency that regulates medical treatments, vaccines and much of the U.S. food supply. Makary came to the FDA as a reformer, instituting so many new initiatives that he became known — and sometimes mocked — for his whiteboard on wheels, festooned with Post-it notes lining up announcements that he promoted on frequent television appearances.
But his efforts at times put him at odds with the powerful food, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries. In the process, he made a number of enemies in Washington and on Wall Street, including some biotech leaders, abortion foes, tobacco executives and eventually some members of the administration.
As the criticism grew, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also urged Makary to step down, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Makary also drew criticism from public health leaders who viewed him as pandering to anti-vaccine activists with the release of an unsupported memo claiming that there were deaths related to COVID-19 vaccines. Criticism flared again when he allowed the renewed use of unproven peptides, or injectable compounds with uncertain effects, a policy favored by Kennedy.
“He has offended almost everyone involved in FDA issues, which is not easy to do,” said Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, which weighs in frequently on FDA decisions. “But it would still be a disaster if he is replaced by someone who appeals primarily to tobacco companies, anti-abortion activists” and pharmaceutical lobbyists, she added.
The resignation was first reported by Politico.
Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s top food regulator, was named the acting commissioner. Diamantas came to the agency from Jones Day, a law firm where he represented Abbott Nutrition, a leader in the infant formula industry. He has become a vocal champion for policies to remove chemicals from the food supply and increase transparency around food ingredients.
The most consequential clash of his tenure was over the authorization of flavored e-cigarettes, a step Makary resisted over concerns that fruity and candy flavors would lure young people to addictive vapes. The White House ultimately prevailed. Earlier this month, two fruit-flavored vapes were approved. And last Friday, the FDA quietly issued a policy allowing them to be more widely marketed.
Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he wished Makary well, and later posted a complimentary social media statement.
“So much was accomplished under his leadership,” Trump wrote. “He was a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine.”
“Marty’s a terrific guy, but he’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life,” Trump said as he left for a trip to China. “He’s a great doctor, and he was having some difficulty.”
Makary also faced repeated calls for his firing from abortion foes who accused him of dragging out the timetable for a study of the safety of mifepristone, an abortion drug, viewing the exercise as one that could support their efforts to restrict the drug’s distribution.
Makary, who was a Johns Hopkins University cancer surgeon and health policy researcher before entering government, attempted to play to Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement, going as far as sitting in a frigid plunge pool with wellness influencer and biohacker Gary Brecka. He also led popular efforts to authorize natural food dyes and change how people talked about hormone replacement therapy for women.
With the support of MAHA voters, Trump framed Makary as a bold reformer, someone who would right an agency that had “lost sight of its primary role as a regulator.”
Early on, Makary and Dr. Vinay Prasad — his hand-picked director of gene therapies, stem cell treatments and vaccines — drew scrutiny when they restricted the criteria for prescribing COVID vaccines to people older than 65 or with a list of health concerns.
Prasad resigned under pressure last summer after he was targeted by right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, in part over his crackdown on a drug company tied to several patient deaths. Prasad was later brought back but left the agency again in recent weeks.
Prasad and his counterpart in the agency’s drug division rejected a number of new drugs for rare diseases, citing flaws in a company’s research supporting an approval.
As Makary went on television to defend the rejections, frustrated biotech leaders and investors vented to the White House and Kennedy’s office.
“On vaccines and mifepristone, Makary rarely prioritized rigorous evidence,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law who studies the FDA. “Ironically, his one stand for high-quality science — on flavored vapes — created the friction with the White House that contributed to him losing his job.”