Senate committee advances Makary to become new head of the FDA

Marty Makary is one step closer to becoming the head of the Food and Drug Administration.

On March 13, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted to advance Makary’s nomination to the full Senate. It is likely that he will be approved because he received Democratic support in Thursday’s vote, with Senate committee members voting 14-9 in favor of his nomination. 

While food safety was mentioned during his nomination hearing, it was not the kind of food safety related to foodborne pathogens and outbreaks. Rather it was about food chemicals, which has long been a favorite topic of Robert F. Kennedy, the new Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Makary, a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, has aligned himself with Kennedy and the Trump Administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. During his confirmation hearing he said he is a believer in science, but tempered with common sense.

“I believe in the scientific process. In addition, I also believe that we can use common sense,” Makary said. “President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s focus on healthy foods has galvanized a grassroots movement in America. Childhood obesity is not a willpower problem, and the rise of early-onset Alzheimer’s is not a genetic cause. We should be and we will be addressing food as it impacts our health.”

Senate committee members asked questions about recent firings at the FDA, some of which were scientists charged with investigating food chemicals.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-MD, asked Makary if he would rehire the fired FDA scientists. Alsobrooks argued firing FDA staffers for the sake of saving taxpayer dollars made no sense, since entire offices in some cases are paid with money derived from user fees.

Makary was non-committal, saying, “if an employee has not logged on to their VPN in two years, then I don’t want to rehire that individual. But if there are people that deserve a look, of course I’m happy to look at that.”

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-CO, said the understaffing at FDA was causing “chaos” and a “serious morale issue.” He questioned how Makary would ensure the FDA would retain its status as upholding the gold standard of science around the world if it didn’t have enough inspectors on staff. 

After first repeating that he wasn’t involved in such decisions, Makary said he would conduct an “ongoing assessment to ensure that the scientists and food director have all the resources they need to do their job.”

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