Trump Approves Plan to Remove FDA Administrator Marty Makary

President Donald Trump has approved a plan to remove Marty Makary as administrator of the Food and Drug Administration. An administration official confirmed the decision to The Independent, though no action has been taken against Makary. The plan follows complaints from anti-abortion groups about Makary's handling of mifepristone, the abortion pill.

Those groups have pushed for tighter restrictions on the drug, which is used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion. The FDA approved a generic version of mifepristone in recent months, a step expected to lower its cost and increase availability.

CNN reported that top White House officials are scheduled to meet with anti-abortion activists who have called for Makary's removal. The activists have criticized his approach to abortion medication, drug approvals and vaccines since the start of the administration.

Mifepristone has been approved for use in the United States for 25 years under the brand name Mifeprex. Following the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, the medication has served as a primary option for women in states where surgical abortion is banned, as it can be prescribed via telemedicine and mailed directly to patients.

Earlier this week the Supreme Court restored nationwide access to the drug after a federal appeals court limited telehealth prescriptions. The high court's emergency order is set to expire on May 11. Without that protection, patients in states where abortion is illegal would need to obtain the pill in person from a health center, often requiring travel of hundreds of miles.

Makary would leave the FDA without a permanent administrator. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also lacked a permanent leader for months, as has the FDA office that oversees vaccines. Makary has clashed with other administration officials during his tenure. No timeline has been announced for any personnel change at the FDA.