Marty Makary Resigns as FDA Commissioner Amid White House Pressure

Marty Makary on Tuesday resigned from his role as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, days after news broke on Friday that the White House had signed off on plans to fire him. Trump confirmed Makary’s resignation on social media, posting an image that appears to show that Makary resigned from his role over a text message. The text message begins “Dr. President Trump[sic], Please accept my resignation, effective today.” Trump wrote in another social media post that Makary had “done a great job at the FDA,” and that he was “a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine.” Trump ended by announcing that Kyle Diamantas, the top food regulator at the FDA, will serve as acting commissioner for now. Trump’s positive review of Makary stands in contrast to the news last week. As administration insiders were widely broadcasting plans for Makary’s ouster on Friday, they offered a long list of issues and instances in which Makary was at odds with the White House. And, according to those close to Makary who spoke with The New York Times today, the now-former commissioner had his own reasons for departing. Complaints Makary’s insiders said the former Johns Hopkins University cancer surgeon resigned after Trump forced his hand on authorizing fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Makary had reportedly been resisting the sign-offs out of concern that the kid-friendly flavors could again entice youth use and addiction—something public health officials and experts have for years worked to combat. But Makary’s stance was in conflict with Trump’s “save vaping” campaign promise—and with the tobacco industry’s interests. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Makary over a weekend to scold him for not moving fast enough to authorize flavored vapes, particularly menthol, mango, and blueberry flavors from the Los Angeles manufacturer Glas. The FDA authorized those flavored products days later and issued a new policy that would make it easier to market flavored vapes. Officials in the Trump administration also noted that Makary had angered anti-abortion activists, who accused him of slow-walking a safety review of mifepristone, a pill used for abortion and miscarriage treatment. Officials also said Makary butted heads with other health officials and was seen as struggling to manage his agency. He reportedly made enemies among lobbyists for the biotech, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries. Public health experts, meanwhile, criticized Makary for changes to the FDA’s vaccine reviews under his watch, which aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda. “He has offended almost everyone involved in FDA issues, which is not easy to do,” Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, told the Times. According to Politico, which was the first to report Makary’s resignation, it was Kennedy—not Trump—who made the call on planning to fire Makary, though Trump had to agree.