Trump's FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, to resign

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigns

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary is resigning from his position Tuesday, a White House official told Fox News. The official said that Makary's resignation has to do with "process at the FDA" and not a specific issue, and said there is "no bad blood" between President Donald Trump and the outgoing commissioner. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed for Makary's resignation, according to the White House official. 

WASHINGTON - The head of the Food and Drug Administration is resigning just over one year since taking the job.  

Dr. Marty Makary’s resignation comes after he drew backlash from health industry executives, anti-abortion activists and other allies of the president, although the official reason for his departure is not known. 

One White House official told FOX News that Makary’s resignation has to do with "process at the FDA" and that there was "no bad blood" between Makary and President Donald Trump. 

FILE - Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration Marty Makary speaks at a news conference on removing synthetic dyes from America's food supply, at the Health and Human Services Headquarters in Washington, DC on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Nath

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What's next:

Kyle Diamantis, FDA deputy commissioner for Food, will serve as acting commissioner, according to FOX.

A permanent replacement for FDA commissioner will need to be nominated by Trump and confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate.

Dig deeper:

Makary, a former Johns Hopkins physician and researcher, faced backlash over his stance on abortion pills, vapes, vaccines and rare disease drugs.

More than a half-dozen initiatives from Makary aimed to speed up or streamline FDA drug reviews, including dropping certain study requirements, incorporating artificial intelligence into drug evaluations and offering expedited reviews to medicines that support "national interests."

But pharmaceutical executives rely on the predictability and consistency of FDA decisions, even more than speedy reviews. Makary’s efforts on drug reviews were overshadowed by internal conflicts and upheavals that created headaches for drugmakers, investors and patients.

Anti-abortion groups have criticized Makary for allegedly slow-walking an internal review of the abortion pill mifepristone, which has been on the market for 25 years but remains a target for conservative activists.

Vaping executives told Trump that Makary was blocking approval of their products, including new flavored e-cigarettes seen as crucial to the industry's survival.

Most of the programs Makary introduced have not gone through federal rulemaking required to enshrine them in U.S. regulations and could easily be overturned by his successors.