Dr. Martin Makary has resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration after months of tension with the Trump administration over flavored e-cigarettes and other health policies.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump personally called Makary to push for faster approval of flavored vapes, including menthol, mango, and blueberry products from the Los Angeles manufacturer Glas. Days later, the FDA authorized those products and issued a new policy easing the path to market for flavored vapes.
Makary also faced criticism from anti-abortion activists for delaying a safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone, and from public health experts who objected to changes in the FDA's vaccine reviews that aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine stance.
According to Politico, Kennedy-not Trump-initiated the plan to fire Makary, though the president ultimately agreed. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, told the New York Times, "He has offended almost everyone involved in FDA issues, which is not easy to do."