President Trump downplayed reports that he had already approved the dismissal of Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary amid ongoing internal disputes over health policy and agency management.
Multiple legacy outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, reported that Makary was on the verge of being removed because of friction with other senior health officials, according to the Gateway Pundit. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, 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.
The Journal further noted that 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 time at the FDA has also been dogged by the aftereffects of layoffs led by the Department of Government Efficiency and rapid turnover in the FDAs leadership ranks.
Makary 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 ONeill. A White House spokesman, however, signaled that no final decision had been made, with the Journal quoting, 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.
Pressed by reporters before boarding Marine One, President Trump appeared to distance himself from the media narrative. Asked about the Makary reports, he replied, Nothing much, and when a reporter followed up, Are you gonna fire him? Trump answered, Um, Ive been reading about it. I know nothing about it.
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