The White House reportedly has approved a plan for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to leave the Trump administration. However, it’s important to note that Trump has not formally dismissed Makary, and the decision is not final. Exclusive: President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary after clashes with the regulator over vaping, abortion and drug policy https://t.co/JLyVxhv7WM — The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 8, 2026 POLITICO shared further: In recent months, Makary alienated key constituencies within and outside the administration as he spent significant capital on a push to bring back former top vaccine regulator Vinay Prasad, resisted flavored vape authorizations sought by some Trump allies and frustrated anti-abortion Republicans who wanted him to move more aggressively to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Makary has also alienated some rare-disease drugmakers who have complained that the agency was inconsistent in its reviews of their medicines. It is not clear when Makary will depart or who will replace him. He was still FDA commissioner as of early Friday afternoon. The Wall Street Journal first reported the plan by the Trump administration to remove him as FDA leader. Administration officials often caution that plans can always change if Trump changes his mind. Still, some of the Johns Hopkins surgeon’s priorities could live on. Makary’s National Priority Review Voucher program — which itself drew outside criticism for the involvement of political leadership — has given numerous medications the promise of priority review and could remain a tool for an administration eager to appear an ally of rare disease patients. CNN noted that Makary’s potential ouster as FDA head would create another top HHS position without a permanent holder. “The White House is considering naming FDA Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, who heads up the agency’s food group, as acting commissioner of the agency to replace current head Marty Makary,” Reuters wrote. The White House is considering naming FDA Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, who heads up the agency's food group, as acting commissioner of the agency to replace current head Marty Makary, according to three sources familiar with the matter. https://t.co/LPQpOBfuKo — Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 8, 2026 CNN has more: The department already lacks a permanent director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a surgeon general. The FDA is also still without a top vaccine regulator following the recent departure of Dr. Vinay Prasad, a close Makary ally who faced separate criticism over his leadership and vaccine policy decisions. In a sign of turbulence within HHS, one of the complicating factors in the plan to dismiss Makary on Friday remained deciding who would replace him atop the FDA, people familiar with the situation said. Makary, a surgeon and author, had pledged to accelerate FDA decisions on drugs, devices and vaccines following his confirmation last March. But he frequently found himself mired in controversy over the subsequent year — criticized by both pharmaceutical companies unhappy with his management of the drug approval process and administration officials who questioned his handling of other areas of FDA’s sweeping portfolio, including tobacco regulation. In a recent flashpoint that renewed talk among Trump and his advisers about firing Makary, the FDA chief resisted internal efforts to approve the sale of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. The issue prompted an angry Trump to directly press Makary over the vapes decisions, two people familiar with the episode said. The FDA subsequently reversed course on flavored e-cigarettes this week.