Dr. Marty Makary is out as FDA Commissioner after a year-long effort to modernize the agency and cut through federal red tape. A White House official confirmed the departure on Tuesday, noting that the agency’s food chief, Kyle Diamantas, will serve as acting commissioner until a permanent successor is named.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Donald Trump praised the outgoing commissioner’s character and expertise.
“Marty’s a great guy. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a wonderful man,” the President said. “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.”
Makary, a renowned surgeon who gained a national following for his common-sense critiques of pandemic-era mandates, took the helm of the FDA with a mandate to streamline drug approvals and challenge the status quo.
During his tenure, he launched over half a dozen initiatives aimed at accelerating the delivery of life-saving medicines to Americans. These included the integration of artificial intelligence into drug evaluations and the creation of expedited pathways for treatments deemed vital to the national interest.
However, Makary’s efforts to overhaul the agency met stiff resistance from the entrenched federal bureaucracy and various interest groups. His leadership led to a significant turnover in senior personnel as he sought to realign the agency with the administration’s deregulation goals.
This friction was particularly evident in the vaccine and drug centers, where Makary and his deputy, Dr. Vinay Prasad, pushed for more rigorous evidence and challenged the influence of major pharmaceutical companies.
The administration’s reform agenda often put Makary in the crosshairs of competing factions. While he worked to fulfill the President’s promise to reduce regulatory hurdles, he also navigated Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s focus on scrutinizing the safety of food additives and traditional vaccine protocols.
Outside the agency, Makary faced pressure from an array of lobbyists and activists. Vaping industry executives pushed for faster product authorizations, leading the agency to recently greenlight the first fruit-flavored e-cigarettes to provide alternatives for adult smokers. Meanwhile, conservative groups sought more transparency regarding long-standing medications like mifepristone.
President Trump noted the high demand for the leadership role at the agency, which oversees billions of dollars in the U.S. economy. “Everybody wants that job. It’s a very important job,” Trump remarked, adding that Makary “is a terrific guy, but he’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life.”
As Diamantas takes over the acting role, the future of Makary’s “national interest” drug reviews and AI initiatives remains a focal point for the administration. A permanent replacement will require Senate confirmation to continue the work of reshaping the nation’s primary health regulatory body.
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