Donald Trump is gearing up to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary over his hesitation to approve some flavored vapes.
The president was also frustrated over Makary’s abortion and drug policies.
That’s according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Makary would be just the latest top official at the Department of Health and Human Services in the second Trump administration to be canned after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez was fired last summer and HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill was axed in February.
At the same time, Trump has struggled to fill the positions, naming his third surgeon general pick, Dr. Nicole Saphier, just last week after having to pull his previous nominee, Dr. Casey Means, amid bipartisan opposition.
Makary assumed the position of FDA director last spring and has been one of the top officials to promote the president’s Make America Health Again efforts, but he has frequently sparred with health department officials and even the White House, the WSJ reported.
But the report confirmed Trump’s plan wasn’t yet final and could change.
The White House did not address whether Makary was on the chopping block in a statement responding to the Daily Beast.
“President Trump has assembled the most experienced and talented administration in history, an administration that continues to focus on delivering more historic victories for the American people,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.
The Daily Beast asked the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
According to the WSJ, top administration officials have been increasingly convinced that Makary needs to leave amid months of turmoil.
This week, the FDA approved some flavored vapes, but the president had reportedly become angered with the commissioner over how long it was taking.
Last month, the WSJ reported that Makary had blocked new flavors, including menthol, mango, and blueberry vapes, despite staff sign-off. Eventually, he moved forward with the authorization under pressure.
The Daily Beast reported this week that Trump backed the approval of vapes after lobbyists with ties to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles visited the White House.
Trump is also facing calls by the anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, to remove Makary as they continue to push for the Trump administration to restrict access to abortion pills.
The FDA approved a new generic version of mifepristone in October. While the White House has denied reports that a safety study on abortion pills has been delayed until after the midterms, Makary told the WSJ in an interview, “I don’t think about the abortion pill.”
“FDA Commissioner Makary should be fired immediately,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement this week. “Indifference is completely unacceptable to millions of pro-life voters expecting the administration to act to save lives.”
The MAHA advocate, a surgeon from John Hopkins Hospital, came to public prominence during the pandemic when he supported mask-wearing and vaccines but opposed broad vaccine mandates.
