Marty Makary Emerges as Leading Candidate for Donald Trump’s FDA Pick

Surgeon and author Marty Makary is being considered as the leading candidate to head the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under President-elect Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Makary, a pancreatic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medicine, has a distinguished career as a health researcher and author, known for questioning medical orthodoxy on various topics including peanut allergies and the use of antibiotics.

Makary’s latest book and public appearances have highlighted issues such as rising rates of chronic disease, the impact of ultraprocessed foods, and environmental exposures. These concerns align with the health agenda of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been chosen by Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Despite Kennedy’s controversial history of promoting debunked theories linking vaccines to autism, Makary has publicly defended Kennedy, stating that he is not anti-vaccine and will not remove or restrict access to vaccines.

Makary has also been critical of the FDA’s handling of COVID-19 vaccine boosters. In a 2023 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, he argued that vaccines should not be universally recommended for younger, lower-risk patients without more comprehensive data from human trials. He emphasized that undermining the normal scientific and regulatory process could erode public trust.

The decision to appoint Makary as the head of the FDA is not yet final, and Trump could still select another candidate. The Trump transition team has indicated that announcements regarding administration appointments will be made by the President-elect in due course).