In Search of a New FDA Commissioner
The Host
As had been rumored for weeks, Marty Makary is out as commissioner of the FDA after a chaotic 13 months presiding over drama in every corner of the agency. That leaves Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services with three senior vacancies: FDA commissioner, surgeon general, and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All must pass through the Senate committee chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who has had a troubled relationship with Kennedy and President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, opponents of abortion remain unhappy with the Trump administration, demanding a more robust federal crackdown on abortion in general and the abortion pill in particular. The administration, meanwhile, has been pushing policies to encourage families to have more children.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post.
Panelists
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- Makary is leaving his role as FDA commissioner after a troubled tenure. While tensions over granting approval for fruit-flavored vapes appear to have been the last straw, Makary led an agency in near-constant turmoil that cast a shadow over its employees and the industries it oversees. Kyle Diamantas, who will serve as acting director, is not a doctor but rather a lawyer with ties to the Trump family.
- The fate of telehealth access to the abortion pill mifepristone hung in the balance this week after the Supreme Court extended its stay on a lower-court order halting that access. Should the court affirm that lower-court ruling, it would be the biggest change to abortion access nationwide since it overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022.
- And the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship continues to transfix the globe, with many American passengers in quarantine. The situation highlights the lack of U.S. engagement in global public health, as well as the slashing of federal resources at the CDC under the Trump administration.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “A Unique Oregon Law Allows It To Block Healthcare Deals. In Five Years, the State Hasn’t Done So Once,” by Rob Davis.
Rachel Cohrs Zhang: The Wall Street Journal’s “Inside Marty Makary’s Downfall at the FDA,” by Liz Essley Whyte and Josh Dawsey.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “Lawmakers’ Prescription Data at Risk After Data Breach,” by Katherine Tully-McManus.
Lauren Weber: Stat’s “Alcohol Is Wreaking Havoc on U.S. Public Health. American Society Looks the Other Way,” by Lev Facher and Isabella Cueto.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- Bloomberg News’ “RFK Jr.’s Communications Chief Exits as HHS Shakeup Widens,” by Rachel Cohrs Zhang.
- The Washington Post’s “Hantavirus Outbreak Tests Trump Officials Who Criticized Covid Response,” by Lena H. Sun.
Credits
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