President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, though insiders caution that the plan is not final and could change, according to several media reports.
News of the planned axing comes from inside sources who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, which was then confirmed by reporting from Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and Politico. The Post reported that the administration has not decided who would serve as acting director upon Makary’s departure.
The planned exit comes after a tumultuous year for Makary, in which the FDA plunged into turmoil and controversy over DOGE cuts, personnel drama, vaccine approvals, gene therapy decisions, abortion pill oversight, and vape regulation.
Earlier this week, the Journal reported that Trump had scolded Makary over the weekend for not moving fast enough to approve flavored vapes and nicotine products. Trump’s advisors reportedly described Makary as a problem for the administration and said he was blocking the president’s campaign promise to “save vaping.”
Specifically, Makary was said to have avoided approving menthol, mango, and blueberry vape flavors from the Los Angeles manufacturer Glas out of concern that the flavors could entice youth to vape. After pressure from Trump, the FDA authorized the vapes on Tuesday.
Top administration officials have seen Makary as struggling to manage the FDA while getting into arguments with other health officials, according to the Journal. They also noted complaints from the pharmaceutical industry about him.
If Makary is removed, it would add to a growing list of vacancies in the ailing health agencies overseen by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. High-level leaders of the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health have left in droves amid the Trump administration. The CDC is without a director, and there is no surgeon general.