FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigns, Kyle Diamantas named Acting Commissioner
OAN Staff Jenna Lee and Brooke Mallory
1:58 PM – Tuesday, May 12, 2026
The White House announced on Tuesday that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary has resigned from his position, effective immediately — coming just one day before his scheduled testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“President Trump, Please accept my resignation, effective today. During my tenure, I announced 50 major FDA reforms. Joe Biden’s FDA had none. I’m extremely proud that we reduced drug review times from a year to 1-2 months, wrote new guidance to advance psychedelics, introduced a new ‘plausible mechanism’ pathway for rare disease drugs, and changed estrogen labels to tell women the truth about menopausal hormone replacement,” read a text sent by Makary, posted by Trump on Truth Social.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your FDA Commissioner. I am forever grateful,” he added.
Additionally, FDA Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantas has since been named Acting Commissioner of the agency. While serving in this temporary leadership capacity, Diamantas will reportedly retain his role as the Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, a position he has held since early 2025.
In this dual capacity, Diamantas oversees the regulation of medicines, medical devices, and tobacco while continuing to manage the agency’s food safety and nutrition programs.
Serving as a primary liaison between the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the White House, he brings a background in regulatory law to the position, having previously served as a partner at Jones Day specializing in food and beverage industry compliance.
Meanwhile, Makary’s departure marks the latest exit from the Trump administration and follows a period of intensifying pressure from conservative advocates. These groups expressed frustration over the FDA’s direction under his leadership, particularly regarding the agency’s handling of several contentious regulatory decisions.
According to analysts, the central point of contention for pro-life organizations has been the Trump administration official’s stance on mifepristone, the medication used in the majority of early-term abortions.
While voters and advocacy organizations repeatedly urged FDA officials to rescind Biden-era policies allowing mifepristone to be prescribed online and delivered by mail, the FDA under Makary chose to keep those expanded access protocols in place.
This tension reached a breaking point last year following the agency’s approval of a new generic version of the drug. For many critics, that decision signaled an outright expansion of the policies they had expected the administration to systematically dismantle — rather than uphold.
These policy disagreements, coupled with reported friction over the approval of flavored e-cigarettes (vapes) and public disputes with other health officials, ultimately led to Makary’s resignation after thirteen months in the role, according to government insiders.
“President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy must end this now, remove Commissioner Makary, stop the mail order abortion scheme, and pull these child-killing drugs from the market,” said Live Action president Lila Rose, prior to Makary’s resignation.
Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill also criticized Makary for failing to release a promised FDA safety review of mifepristone, a commitment he originally made during his confirmation process.
Despite his earlier pledges to re-examine the drug’s safety profile, the findings have yet to be made public. According to reports from Bloomberg News, the delay was intentional, with Makary allegedly instructing agency officials to withhold the results of the review until after the conclusion of the upcoming midterm elections.
“What a mess Makary turned out to be,” said a Trump administration official to Fox News, adding that his actions and related remarks told “every pro-life advocate their concerns are an afterthought.”
President Trump weighed in personally on the transition as well, releasing a statement shortly after the announcement.
“I want to thank Dr. Marty Makary for having done a great job at the FDA. So much was accomplished under his leadership. He was a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine. Kyle Diamantas, a very talented person, will be put in the Acting position.”
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