Trump Approves Plan to Remove FDA Commissioner Marty Makary

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 One study, which concluded that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks, was withdrawn after acceptance by the journal Vaccine.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.

Vinay Prasad was fired then rehired last year before departing the agency again at the end of April. Makary supported Prasad and the two collaborated on a new vaccine approval framework announced in a journal article rather than through standard agency channels.

Prasad also overruled scientists on limiting Covid vaccines and on rejecting then reversing course on Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine for people over 50.

A new commissioner’s priority review voucher program allowing one-day regulatory decisions has drawn criticism for potentially compromising safety evaluations. Peter Lurie, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former FDA associate commissioner, said the agency’s decisions were supposed to rest on science alone.

“Public trust is built up not over months, but over decades.

On the other hand, you can destroy it in mere months,” Lurie said. " — Peter Lurie, May 2026 (The Guardian) Makary has also faced criticism from Republican lawmakers over rejections of treatments for rare diseases and melanoma.

Senator Ron Johnson launched an investigation into the agency’s handling of rare disease treatments. Makary responded to pressure regarding a melanoma treatment from Replimune by stating he works for the American people and stands by FDA scientists. Abortion policy has remained a flashpoint.

Republicans in Congress have pressed for action on mifepristone, the medication used in medication abortions, and have viewed Makary as an obstacle. Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation in March to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone for abortion use. Makary’s ouster would add to existing vacancies across Robert F.

’s health department, which is already operating without permanent directors for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the surgeon general. Neither of the FDA’s two main divisions regulating biopharma currently have permanent leaders.

" — Angela Rasmussen, May 2026 (The Guardian) Makary, previously a Johns Hopkins professor and surgeon, rose to prominence critiquing Covid boosters. He has promoted theories that HIV and Lyme disease originated in laboratories. At an HHS conference on women’s health in March he discussed potential links between microbiome disruptions and long-term health, citing cesarean sections and antibiotic use.