Marty Makary’s tenure as head of FDA ends with ‘difficulty’

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary stepped down on Tuesday, capping weeks of pressure and rumors that his job was in jeopardy.  

The agency’s top food regulator, Kyle Diamantas, will take over, President Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Trump told reporters ahead of his trip to China on Tuesday that Makary had been “having some difficulty” in the role. 

“Marty’s a terrific guy, but he’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life,” Trump said. “He was having some difficulty. You know, he’s a great doctor and he was having some difficulty.” 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House did not respond to requests for further comment, though the White House’s official rapid response account shared Makary’s resignation by text on the social media platform X. 

“Dr. President Trump, Please accept my resignation, effective today,” Makary wrote.  

“During my tenure, I announced 50 major FDA reforms. Joe Biden’s FDA had none. I’m extremely proud that we reduced drug review times from a year to 1-2 months, wrote new guidance to advance psychedelics, introduced a new ‘plausible mechanism’ pathway for rare disease drugs, and changed estrogen labels to tell women the truth about menopausal hormone replacement.” 

Makary’s resignation comes on the heels of reports of internal tension between him and the White House. 

Last week, FDA announced authorization of fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes for the first time, after months of pressure by Trump and the tobacco industry. Previously, the agency had only authorized tobacco or menthol flavors.

According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Makary tried to block agency scientists from authorizing the new products, but he was angrily reprimanded by Trump, who demanded he do it to appease........

© The Hill