Martin Makary’s layoffs don’t hit science staff, says new FDA chief Martin Makary
Martin Makary, the new sworn in commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the cuts in funding initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) did not affect the agency’s core scientific staff. Speaking at the World Economic Summit held in Semafor in Washington, D.C. today (April 24), Makary reiterated his commitment to leading the FDA with “gold standard science” and “common sense.”
The Trump administration’s cost-cutting campaign has canceled about 3,500 jobs in the FDA. Makary clarified that the cuts focused primarily on the agency’s communications, IT, legislation and policy teams. “No cuts are for science reviewers or inspectors,” he said in a stage conversation with PBS anchor Amna Nawaz.
Makary noted that the FDA’s workforce has doubled over the past two decades, with about 19,000 employees before the latest layoffs. He said the growth has led to administrative silos and inefficiency, which is necessary to some reductions.
One particularly controversial termination is Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator for more than eight years. Marks, who served as director of the Center for Biosystem Assessment and Research and played a central role in accelerating the development of the Covid-19 vaccine during Trump’s first term, said he was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Max’s removal has sparked concerns about the government’s position on the vaccine. Earlier this month, HHS issued a sharp statement: If Max “does not want science to restore its gold standard and promote radical transparency, he has no place in the FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy.”
Makary delayed the characterization of the marker as a vaccine expert, noting that his background is hematology (the study of blood-related diseases), not vaccinology. “He is overseeing a department with a center for vaccine research,” Makary said, adding that Marks had previously disagreeed on Covid-19-Booster’s advice for children, but had launched two senior scientists, Marion Gruber and Philip Krause. “So, ironically, he is the top vaccine expert, and he has launched two top career scientists at the Vaccine Center,” Makary added.
Makary reiterated his position on the vaccine: “Vaccines save lives, and any preventable death is a tragedy.”
However, he criticized the agency’s approach to pandemic-era approach, especially regarding quarantine and vaccine recommendations for children. “The worst thing you can do as a doctor is to make such authoritarian suggestions when the reality is that the data is very blurry or there is no data,” he said.
Prior to the appointment of public service, Makary was a professor at Johns Hopkins University, specializing in surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopy. He is widely recognized for co-development of surgical safety checklists and for the establishment of the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Results Research.
