Criticized by both political parties for his handling of several sensitive issues, this surgeon, who has been in office for a year, is reported to have submitted his resignation according to American media sources.
“He will leave, his deputy will take over temporarily, until we find someone,” said Donald Trump to journalists. He continued, “Marty is a great guy, but he will move on to something else.”
In recent months, Marty Makary had drawn the ire of both political parties, as well as leaders in the health sector and allies of President Trump, including anti-abortion activists and tobacco industry representatives.
Multiple Changes within Health Agencies
At the helm of the FDA, a powerful institution responsible for regulating vaccines, drugs, and food supplies, he had taken controversial measures, including initiating a review of vaccine approval procedures and a reexamination 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 ended up alienating these lawmakers and associations due to press reports suggesting that he was delaying this analysis. The SBA Pro-Life, one of the leading anti-abortion organizations in the United States, had been calling on Donald Trump to fire him for several days.
This is the fourth departure of a senior official from the Trump administration since the beginning of the year, following those of the Labor, Justice, and Homeland Security Secretaries. His resignation also comes after the departure in April of the vaccine regulation chief at the FDA, Vinay Prasad, and multiple changes within American health agencies since they were placed under the oversight of vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr.
