Trump's FDA Chief Is Pushed Out. Acting Head Is Nonscientist Friend of Don Jr.

"Makary attempted to split the difference between Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda and a more traditional approach to regulation, ultimately angering both camps. "Nobody was happy with what he did," says Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School."

"Shortly before his resignation, Makary had drawn the ire of President Trump for attempting to block the approval of fruit-flavored vapes, and anti-abortion groups for not placing harsher restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. But even before Makary took the helm, mass layoffs and the loss of scientific expertise had already thrown the FDA, which has oversight powers extending to more than a fifth of the U.S. economy, in turmoil."

"The FDA's deputy commissioner for food, Kyle Diamantis, will now assume Makary's position in an acting capacity. Diamantas, a personal friend of Donald Trump Jr., does not have a background in medicine. The abrupt leadership shakeup is worrisome for the future of health and medicine in the United States, says Dr. Robert Steinbrook, the health research director at watchdog organization Public Citizen."

""We need a strong public health agency," he explains. "[But] when you pick them apart for particular theories and the idiosyncrasies of the Health and Human Services secretary, you destroy things which take years, if not decades, to rebuild.""

Martin Makary resigned as FDA commissioner after 13 months in the role. His efforts to balance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda with a more traditional regulatory approach angered both sides. He faced criticism from President Trump for trying to block approval of fruit-flavored vapes. He also drew opposition from anti-abortion groups for not imposing harsher restrictions on mifepristone. Before his tenure, mass layoffs and loss of scientific expertise had already destabilized the FDA, which oversees products affecting more than a fifth of the U.S. economy. Kyle Diamantis will serve as acting deputy commissioner for food, but he lacks a medicine background, prompting worries about rebuilding public health capacity.

Read at Truthout