Marty Makary exits amid reports of White House frustration and internal FDA unrest
Dr. Marty Makary resigned as FDA Commissioner on Tuesday after a turbulent 13 months. His departure comes after months of growing tension with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is said to have pushed for his removal when Makary lost support from both the Trump White House and the agency's career scientists. President Donald Trump called Makary a "great guy," but said that he was facing "some difficulties," Politico reported.
The announcement of Makary's resignation comes even as several events remain scheduled for the FDA Commissioner. It is still unclear who might succeed Markary in office. President Trump said that for the time being, Kyle Diamantas, who was Deputy Commissioner for Food, will serve as acting commissioner. Among the many points of friction with Kennedy and the White House, the latest driver of the fallout was the agency's handling of tobacco regulation. In his last week, Makary approved several fruit-flavored e-cigarette products, reversing years of FDA efforts to reduce youth nicotine use. Reports say this decision came under heavy political pressure after President Trump met with a representative from the tobacco company R.J. Reynolds in Florida.
Beyond the vaping controversy, Makary has also faced significant pushback from several Republican lawmakers over the agency's review of the abortion pill, mifepristone. Reports suggest that Kennedy Jr. and various conservative activists felt Makary was moving too slowly on a series of Supreme Court and appellate rulings mandating the FDA to conduct a fresh, rigorous safety review of mifepristone. They wanted a swift regulatory move to curb the drug's distribution, while Makary, fearing a complete collapse of the FDA's scientific credibility, reportedly allowed career scientists more time to document their findings.
This is welcome news. Dr. Makary was uniquely destructive to the prolife movement. He attempted to place pro-abortion lawyers in key positions. He slow walked a vitally necessary review of the abortion drug mifepristone. He used his discretion to approve a new abortion drug when… https://t.co/ZHn5UsImeW
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 12, 2026
Additionally, Markay's leadership was marred by unprecedented turnover, as mass layoffs and the departures of nearly every high-ranking career official left the agency’s drug and vaccine divisions in a state of constant transition. The downsizing spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) affected 3,500 FDA workers, as per the Politico report. Markay's confrontations with a series of drugmakers over reviews and vaccines also added to the Trump administration's decision to remove him. As per a Reuters report, the FDA rejected several life-saving drugs, including a cancer drug from Replimune.
