Marty Markary to resign as head of FDA

Marty Makary plans to resign as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, The Washington Times has confirmed.

Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for food, will lead the agency in an acting capacity, the Times has also confirmed.

President Trump acknowledged Dr. Makary’s ousting before leaving for his trip to China, but did not offer any specifics.

“Marty’s a great guy. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a wonderful man and he’s going to be off and the assistant, the deputy, is taking over temporarily until we find a replacement,” Mr. Trump said. “Everybody wants that job. It’s a very important job.”

“He was having some difficulty,” Mr. Trump said of Dr. Makary. “He’s a great doctor and he was having some difficulty but he’s going to go on and he’s going to do well.”

The resignation ends a contentious tenure at the FDA, which is responsible for overseeing the safety of food, drugs and veterinary products. Under Dr. Makary’s leadership, the agency drew criticism from Republicans for not reversing a Biden-era rule that let abortion drugs be mailed and dispensed via telehealth. He was also blasted by healthcare advocates after the FDA announced last week that it authorized fruit-flavored vapes for adults.

He was also blasted by healthcare advocates after the FDA announced last week that it authorized fruit-flavored vapes for adults. Mr. Trump had long promised that he would reverse the ban on fruit-flavored vapes and e-cigarettes, and reportedly had grown frustrated that Dr. Makary was blocking his campaign promise.

Also, under his leadership, the FDA became involved in several public spats with pharmaceutical makers over potentially lifesaving drugs and vaccines. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page ran at least half a dozen op-eds blasting Dr. Makary for controversial drug rejections, including most recently, a cancer drug from Replimune.

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The FDA did not immediately responded to a request for comment. Politico first reported on Tuesday that Dr. Makary will resign.

Dr. Makary’s departure marks the fourth high-profile shake-up by President Trump in recent weeks. Since March, Mr. Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer resigning amid a misconduct probe.

Rumors of Dr. Makary’s ousting had been circulating around Washington for weeks. He was notably absent Monday during an Oval Office event alongside other top federal public health officials as Mr. Trump touted his administration’s efforts on maternal health.

Dr. Makary was expected to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday about the FDA’s budget. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was still scheduled to appear, according to a CBS News report.

A British-American surgical oncologist who worked at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Makary was confirmed to the post in March 2025. Ahead of his Senate confirmation, he appeared frequently on Fox News to criticize COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

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The FDA has been marked by turmoil in recent years as thousands of employees were forced out as part of Mr. Trump’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce. In one year, the FDA had five different vaccine chiefs, including one who was fired, hired back a month later and then left on their own a year later.

The controversies made him a target of many, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Make America Healthy Again movement, media outlets, pharmaceutical companies and anti-abortion groups.

A Wall Street Journal editorial published earlier this month said no administration official has caused more headaches for Mr. Trump than Dr. Makary. It added that Dr. Makary’s personnel decisions “have created continuous drama and dysfunction.”

“His lack of transparency and his doublespeak have further undermined trust in public-health officials,” the Journal wrote.

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• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.