The White House has approved a plan to dismiss the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, Marty Makary, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be the next leadership shake-up within the federal health department.
The Wall Street Journal reported exclusively on Friday (8) that President Donald Trump planned to dismiss Makary.
Two of the sources, who are White House aides, said the decision wasn’t final. A third source close to the White House said they had been told that Trump had already given the go-ahead.
“President Trump has built the most experienced and talented administration in history, an administration that remains focused on achieving historic victories for the American people,” said White House press secretary Kush Desai.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, was not immediately available for comment.
The conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal published more than half a dozen articles criticizing Makary’s management of the agency. An op-ed asked whether any other government official had caused more trouble for Trump than Makary, citing the FDA’s rejection, repeated twice, of Replimune’s RP1 therapy for melanoma.
In an interview with CNBC this week, Makary said the decision was made by the scientists who evaluated the drugs, and not by him.
Makary has faced growing pressure to produce a safety review of the abortion pill. Anti-abortion activists were set to meet with White House officials on Friday, amid growing frustration that the government has not acted with the necessary firmness to restrict access to abortion.
Trump also grew irritated with the way Makary handled flavored electronic cigarettes, a product he had promised to protect during his 2024 campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump scolded Makary over the weekend for not approving them more quickly.
The White House is considering naming Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s deputy commissioner and head of the agency’s food division, as interim commissioner to replace the current head, according to one source and a second source.
Among the names potentially in consideration for the agency’s permanent appointment are former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, and former interim commissioner and Assistant Health Secretary Brett Giroir, according to these two sources and a third.
