FDA Commissioner Marty Makary Resigns After Trump Pressure

Key TakeawaysDr. Marty Makary has stepped down as head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after just over a yearHis resignation follows Trump administration pressure and criticism of his regulatory decisionsFDA food regulator Kyle Diamantas will step in until a permanent replacement is found.WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — After months of pressure from the Trump administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has quit. President Donald Trump posted the news on Truth Social, including the resignation text message he received from Makary. In the text, Makary highlighted accomplishments during his tenure. He cited speedier drug review; new guidance to advance psychedelics; a new "plausible mechanism pathway" to speed approval of rare disease drugs; and new labeling "to tell women the truth" about menopausal hormone replacements, according to StatNews. Makary, who was a surgical oncologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine prior to joining the FDA, led the FDA for a little over a year.“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your FDA Commissioner,” Makary said in his text to the president. “I am forever grateful.”The decision comes after Trump signed off last week on a plan to fire him, a move rumored to be in the works since at least late 2025, according to StatNews. “He’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life,” Trump said of Makary. “He was having some difficulty. He’s a great doctor. He’s going to go on and do well. Everybody wants that job.”As FDA chief, Makary came under fire, particularly over his pushback on approving sale of flavored e-cigarettes. He also angered some Republican lawmakers and the anti-abortion community by "slow-walking" a safety study on the abortion pill mifepristone, according to StatNews.While Makary was reported to have many ideas to improve FDA regulation, many felt he was ill-suited for the job.“He was creative and ambitious with ideas to speed up drug development,” said Dr. Roderick Wong, managing partner of biotech hedge fund RTW Investments. Ultimately, Wong said, Makary was accountable for Dr. Vinay Prasad’s "poor" leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in 2025 and 2026 and his inability to keep someone to head the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.In Makary's place, Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s top food regulator, will step in as acting commissioner during the search for a permanent replacement. While FDA commissioners typically have medical training and experience, Diamantas does not, making him an unusual choice for the role. “Kyle Diamantas now has a nearly impossible charge — leading, as a non-scientist, a science-based agency under an unqualified secretary who puts his own medical and nutritional pet peeves over evidence-based public health,” said Peter Lurie, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.It’s unclear how long Diamantas will lead the FDA.SOURCE: StatNews, May 12, 2026.What This Means For YouFuture leadership of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may impact upcoming high-profile decisions on experimental treatments for new drugs and vaccines..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary Resigns After Trump Pressure

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