The White House has approved a plan to fire U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary, according to sources familiar with the matter, in what could be the next leadership change within the federal health department.
O Wall Street Journal reported firsthand, this Friday (8), that President Donald Trump planned to fire Makary.
Two of the sources, who are White House advisers, said the decision was not final. A third source close to the White House said they have been told that Trump has already given the go-ahead.
“President Trump has assembled the most experienced and talented administration in history, an administration that remains focused on achieving historic victories for the American people,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, was not immediately available for comment.
Makary’s firing is expected to follow a series of controversies that have drawn criticism from Trump allies, supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative media, pharmaceutical companies and anti-abortion groups.
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The conservative editorial board of Wall Street Journal published more than half a dozen articles criticizing Makary’s tenure at the agency. One op-ed questioned whether any other administration official had caused more problems for Trump than Makary, citing the FDA’s twice-repeated rejection of Replimune’s RP1 melanoma therapy.
In an interview with CNBC this week, Makary said the decision was made by the scientists who analyzed the drugs, not him.
Makary has come under increasing pressure to produce a safety review of the abortion pill. Anti-abortion activists were scheduled to meet with White House officials on Friday amid growing frustration that the government has not acted strongly enough to restrict access to abortion.
Trump was also angered by Makary’s handling of flavored e-cigarettes, a product he had pledged to protect during his 2024 campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump reprimanded Makary over the weekend for not approving them more quickly.
The White House is considering naming Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner of the FDA and head of the agency’s food group, as the agency’s acting commissioner to replace the current head, according to one of the sources and an additional source.
Among the names potentially considered for the agency’s definitive appointment are former FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn and former acting commissioner and deputy secretary of Health Brett Giroir, according to these two sources and a third.
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