FDA nominee sidesteps questions on abortion pill, agency layoffs and
other issues
[March 07, 2025]
By MATTHEW PERRONE
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration
largely sidestepped questions Thursday from senators about how he would
handle numerous pressing issues before the agency, including recent
layoffs, a canceled vaccine meeting and the continued availability of
the abortion pill.
Dr. Marty Makary — a surgeon, author and researcher — lauded the FDA’s
“gold-standard science” in testimony before the Senate’s health
committee, which will vote on whether to advance his nomination. A
professor at Johns Hopkins University, Makary is known for his
contrarian views and previously called the FDA “broken,” and “mired in
politics and red tape” while working as a commentator for Fox News.
He repeatedly assured Republican and Democratic senators he would follow
the “scientific process” at FDA. But he wouldn't commit to specific
actions on a host of hot-button issues, including the abortion pill
mifepristone, which has been ensnared in politics since a 2021 decision
by FDA making it available by mail.
“I have no preconceived plans on mifepristone policy except to take a
hard look at the data and to meet with the professional career
scientists at the FDA who have reviewed the data,” Makary told Sen. Bill
Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the health committee.
Makary's remarks echoed those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who
told lawmakers in January he wants to “study” the safety of mifepristone
and a host of other long-established therapies, including
antidepressants, childhood vaccines and attention-deficit drugs. The
prospect of Trump officials overturning the approval of FDA-approved
medicines is a growing concern for physicians, medical researchers and
drugmakers.
Mifepristone was approved roughly 25 years ago and FDA scientists have
repeatedly reaffirmed its safety over the years, easing limits on its
use, including eliminating a requirement that patients pick it up in
person. The FDA has been facing pressure from anti-abortion groups and
lawmakers to restrict mifepristone following legal battles over access.
Like other drugs, the FDA continues to collect reports of side effects
and complications with the pill. Makary said he wouldn’t “prejudge the
data without seeing it.”
That idea didn’t reassure Sen. Maggie Hassan, one of several Democrats
who pressed Makary to commit to keeping the drug available under its
current framework, which allows online prescribing by health
professionals.
“The concern is whether you are going to unilaterally overrule the data
that currently exists for political purposes," the New Hampshire senator
said, after referring to dozens of studies supporting the drug's safe
use. “We need to know when you say that you’re an independent scientist,
that’s what you really mean.”
FDA commissioners aren’t typically involved in the agency’s day-to-day
medical reviews, but they often serve as a buffer between FDA scientists
and political forces elsewhere in government.
If confirmed, Makary would take over at a particularly turbulent period
for the agency. Last month, the FDA abruptly fired hundreds of staffers
across multiple parts of the agency, only to rehire some of them a week
later. The agency’s top food regulator and several other senior leaders
have resigned or retired in recent weeks.
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Martin Makary nominated to serve as Commissioner of Food and Drugs
at the Department of Health and Human Services, testifies before the
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Capitol
Hill Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis
Magana)
 Makary told lawmakers he was "not
involved” in any of the recent staff reductions and would do his own
assessment on whether some employees should be rehired.
Similarly, Makary said he had no involvement in FDA’s recent
decision to abruptly cancel a meeting of outside vaccine experts who
were scheduled to make recommendations for next season’s flu shots.
He downplayed the significance of the meeting and wouldn't commit to
rescheduling it, noting that in previous years the FDA panel
“rubber-stamped” recommendations made by international vaccine
authorities.
As commissioner, Makary said he would “reevaluate” which vaccine
topics merit consulting the agency's outside advisers.
Trump administration officials said FDA’s staff scientists will
choose strains for the shots and send them to manufacturers,
ensuring that updated vaccines are ready for the fall.
“What is lost is the transparency,” said Cassidy, who noted that
eliminating the public meeting cuts against Kennedy’s pledge for
“radical transparency" in health decisions. “We want the American
people to know, and obviously canceling the meeting shuts the door a
little bit."
The cancellation marked the second time in less than a week that the
Trump administration intervened in a previously scheduled vaccine
meeting. A late February meeting of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel has been postponed, with no
new date set.
Kennedy recently called for a “Make America Healthy Again”
commission to review the safety of a number of FDA-approved
products, including vaccines, weight-loss drugs and stimulants.
Given Kennedy’s history of spreading discredited fears about
vaccines, health groups and Democratic lawmakers have warned that he
could appoint new experts who share his beliefs to FDA's vaccine
advisory panel.
Again, Makary said he has “no preconceived plans to rearrange that
committee or any committee,” and he defended Kennedy’s efforts:
“Secretary Kennedy wants to make America healthy again.”
Makary emphasized his support for Kennedy's “MAHA agenda,”
particularly on food, where he said additives, colorings and other
chemicals could be contributing to chronic health problems.
“These are chemicals that the industry insists are safe — a subset
of which are concerning,” Makary told Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy
Tuberville “We have to look at those ingredients, and you have my
commitment to do so if confirmed."
Compared with Kennedy, Makary is considered one of Trump’s more
conventional health nominees and is widely expected to be confirmed.
A full Senate vote on his nomination is expected in the coming
weeks.
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