President Trump on Friday responded to reports that he signed off on a plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
The Washington Post, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that Marty Makary was going to be fired because he isn’t getting along with other health department officials.
President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, according to people familiar with the matter, following a tumultuous period for the regulator that included clashes over vaping, abortion and drug policy.
Makary, a former Johns Hopkins surgeon who became a frequent Make America Healthy Again surrogate on television news programs, is seen by other top administration leaders as struggling to manage his agency, sparring frequently with health department officials and at times with the White House.
His tenure has also been dogged by the aftereffects of layoffs led by the Department of Government Efficiency and rapid turnover in the FDA’s leadership ranks.
He would become the latest top lieutenant fired under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since the ouster last summer of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez and the February removal of HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill.
A White House spox told WSJ that Trump hasn’t completely made up his mind on Mokary.
“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 spokesman Kush Desai.
President Trump was asked about the reports on Makary before he boarded Marine One Friday afternoon.
“Nothing much,” Trump said.
“Are you gonna fire him?” a reporter asked Trump.
“Um, I’ve been reading about it. I know nothing about it,” Trump said.
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