The head of the American Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary, who has been criticized by both political sides for his handling of several sensitive issues, will “step down,” Donald Trump announced on Tuesday. According to American media outlets, the surgeon, who had been in office for just over a year, submitted his resignation amidst rumors that the American president was about to fire him.
“He is going to leave, his deputy will take over temporarily, until we find someone,” said Donald Trump to journalists. He continued, “Marty is a terrific guy, but he is moving on to something else.”
In recent months, Marty Makary had drawn the ire of both political sides, as well as healthcare sector leaders and allies of President Trump, including anti-abortion activists and representatives of the tobacco lobby.
At the helm of the FDA, a powerful institution responsible for regulating vaccines, drugs, and food items, he had taken controversial measures, including launching a review of vaccine approval procedures and a reassessment of the safety of mifepristone, a pill used in the majority of abortions in the United States.
Although this second review was demanded by the anti-abortion camp, Marty Makary had eventually alienated these lawmakers and groups due to press reports alleging he was dragging out this analysis. The SBA Pro-Life, one of the leading anti-abortion organizations in the United States, had been urging Donald Trump to fire him for several days.
This marks the fourth departure of a high-ranking official in the Trump administration since the beginning of the year, following those of the Labor, Justice, and Homeland Security ministers. His resignation also comes after the departure in April of the FDA’s vaccine regulation chief Vinay Prasad, and multiple changes within US healthcare agencies since they were placed under the leadership of vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr.
