Who is Dr. Marty Makary, Trump’s pick to head the FDA?

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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Marty Makary to lead the FDA.

Makary currently is a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and previously was an advisor at the conservative think tank Paragon Health Institute.

In a post on his website about his latest book, the surgeon derided “experts” who “demonized natural fat in foods, driving Americans to processed carbohydrates as obesity rates soared.”

Makary also has criticized the agency for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically vaccination mandates for children and young adults. Still, he described himself in 2021 as “pro-vaccine” in an editorial published by US News. 

If confirmed as FDA commissioner, Makary would inherit several projects at the agency.

Outgoing Commissioner Robert Califf started a massive reorganization of the FDA’s food division that took effect this year. This included moving functions from the agency’s regulatory affairs and food safety offices under one program and honing in on inspections and investigations of food products.

Some analysts in the public health sector were not surprised by Makary’s selection. Chris Meekins, an HHS official in the first Trump term, told Politico the nominee “may create more upheaval” with the FDA’s handling of food than drugs.

In a statement posted to Truth Social on Friday, Trump said the agency needs Makary to evaluate “harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic.”

Makary will work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has pledged to increase regulation of food companies and crack down on additives like corn syrup.

“FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator,” Trump wrote. “The agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a highly respected Johns Hopkins surgical oncologist and health policy expert to course-correct and refocus the agency.”