FDA Commissioner Makary Resigns Amid Controversy
State of the Union: The outgoing agency head had angered pharma companies, pro-life Republicans, and vaping lobbyists.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Marty Makary, resigned Tuesday after leading the agency for just 13 months. Makary’s tenure at the FDA was marked by significant controversy, as he angered a number of political constituencies.
Makary was elevated to head the FDA by President Donald Trump as part of the administration’s embrace of the Make America Healthy Again movement, represented by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His time at the FDA saw a significant exodus of agency officials and employees, which created turmoil in the agency’s drug review program and frustrated pharmaceutical companies waiting for regulatory approval for their products.
He also angered pro-life Republicans, who accused him of slow-walking a review of the chemical abortion pill mifepristone, and fought with vaping lobbyists over the approval of flavored e-cigarettes.
The FDA’s top food official, Kyle Diamantas, will take over the agency as acting commissioner.
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