Marty Makary Resigns as FDA Commissioner After Trump Pressure Over Vape Approvals

Dr. Marty Makary is out as FDA Commissioner. He resigned Tuesday, May 12, 2026, according to reporting from both Politico and the New York Post.

Kyle Diamantas, FDA deputy commissioner for food, will serve as acting commissioner.

Makary was scheduled to testify before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday about the FDA's 2027 budget request. That testimony won't happen now.

What Pushed Trump Over the Edge

The vape fight proved to be the flashpoint that ended Makary's tenure.

According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump was directly frustrated by Makary's reluctance to approve fruit- and menthol-flavored vaping products. Trump made explicit promises to the vape industry during the 2024 campaign. Makary wasn't delivering.

The New York Post confirmed that vape industry opposition — a well-connected lobbying force — was a central factor in his downfall.

It Wasn't Just Vapes

Makary managed to antagonize people across the political spectrum simultaneously.

On the right, anti-abortion advocates spent months demanding his firing. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri celebrated the resignation Monday, calling Makary "uniquely destructive to the pro-life movement." Hawley accused him of slow-walking a safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone, placing "pro-abortion lawyers in key positions," and approving a separate abortion drug that Hawley claims sends 1 in 10 women to the emergency room.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — an organization Speaker Mike Johnson has publicly called the most effective pro-life advocacy group in the country — had demanded Makary's firing as far back as December 2025. "Enough is enough," their spokesperson said at the time. "Dr. Makary should be fired immediately."

On a completely different front, the New York Post also noted that Makary drew criticism from advocates pushing for faster approvals of treatments for rare diseases like Huntington's. Those groups wanted the FDA to move faster. Makary wasn't moving fast enough for them either.

Who Makary Was

Makary is a surgeon and cancer researcher who became a public figure by criticizing COVID-19 vaccine mandates during the Biden administration. The Senate confirmed him as FDA Commissioner in March 2025.

He was regularly seen alongside Trump at public health events and prescription drug pricing announcements. The relationship looked solid. It wasn't.

What Right-Leaning Outlets Are Emphasizing

The Daily Signal and New York Post are framing this primarily through the pro-life lens — Hawley's statement, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's reaction. The abortion pill angle is getting significant play on the right.

That framing isn't wrong. But it's incomplete.

What Left-Leaning Outlets Would Emphasize — And They Have a Point

Left-leaning outlets and progressive commentators would look at this story very differently. Their likely argument: a Republican president just forced out an FDA commissioner partly because he wouldn't fast-track nicotine products marketed to teenagers. That's a public health concern, and it's getting buried under the abortion fight narrative.

Progressive critics would also point out that Makary's departure for being "too slow" on vape approvals fits a pattern of the Trump administration subordinating FDA independence to industry lobbying. The vape industry spent heavily in 2024. Now they're getting results.

Furthermore, left-leaning commentators would likely defend Makary's caution on mifepristone as appropriate regulatory rigor — not obstruction. The FDA conducting thorough safety reviews is the whole point of having an FDA.

This story was covered almost exclusively by right-leaning outlets at the time of publication. Left-leaning media outlets had NOT yet weighed in with their framing, which itself is notable — a significant FDA leadership change deserves coverage across the board.

The Conflict of Interests No One Is Fully Saying Out Loud

Here's the uncomfortable truth both sides are dancing around.

A president fired his own FDA commissioner — at least in part — because a politically connected industry didn't like the pace of its product approvals. That industry made campaign promises a factor in the 2024 election. Now those promises are being enforced through personnel decisions.

Whether you're worried about kids vaping candy-flavored nicotine or worried about the abortion pill staying on the market, the underlying dynamic is the same: FDA independence took a hit today. Regulatory decisions are being made based on political pressure, not just science.

That should concern everyone. It doesn't matter which side of the political aisle you sit on.

What Comes Next

Kyle Diamantas is acting commissioner as of Tuesday. Nobody knows yet what his positions are on flavored vapes, mifepristone, or rare disease drug approvals.

The FDA's 2027 budget testimony is now in limbo.

Whoever Trump nominates permanently will enter the confirmation process knowing exactly what happens to FDA commissioners who don't move fast enough for their boss's political allies.