politics
Trump Removes FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
President Trump has approved a plan to dismiss FDA Commissioner Marty Makary after months of clashes over vaping approvals, vaccine policies, drug rejections and agency personnel turmoil. The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on May 8, 2026, would create another high-profile vacancy in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health department.
May 8, 7:08 PM·3m read4 sources
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President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Marty Makary as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 8, 2026. The decision follows months of tension between Makary and the White House over several high-profile regulatory actions, including vaping approvals, vaccine safety publications and drug rejections.
Plans could still change, multiple outlets noted.
Makary overrode agency scientists to initially halt approval of fruit-flavored vapes before facing direct pressure from Trump, who wanted the products approved to appeal to younger voters. The flavored vapes were ultimately approved on Tuesday. The associated news release omitted any comment from Makary, an unusual step, and credited the decision to President Trump’s leadership.
The FDA also stopped publication of research on the safety of shingles and Covid vaccines. One study, which concluded that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks, was withdrawn after acceptance by the journal Vaccine. Vinay Prasad, then the top U.S.
vaccines regulator, decided to pull the study, according to Stat News. Angela Rasmussen, co-editor of Vaccine and a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, described the episode as part of a broader pattern. ” Rasmussen warned that top-level interference with research publication appears to be increasing and that the agency could serve as a testing ground for overriding scientific staff because most of the public does not follow its inner workings.
Personnel upheaval has been constant since the start of the new administration. The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has had multiple leaders in quick succession. George Tidmarsh, a biotech industry veteran, was appointed then ousted.
Richard Pazdur, a respected cancer drug regulator, accepted the role and quit after one month. The current acting director, Tracy Beth Høeg, is a sports medicine physician. Similar turnover has affected the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
