FDA Commissioner Marty Makary Resigns After Pressure from Kennedy and Pro-Life Groups

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary is resigning from his position Tuesday, a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The official said Makary's resignation has to do with "process at the FDA" and not a specific issue. The official added there is "no bad blood" between President Donald Trump and the outgoing commissioner. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed for Makary's resignation, according to the White House official.

Kyle Diamantis, FDA deputy commissioner for Food, will serve as acting commissioner, Fox News Digital learned.

Makary’s resignation followed mounting pressure from pro-life advocates and administration critics frustrated with his handling of several high-profile FDA decisions. Critics claimed he slow-rolled MAHA initiatives, according to media reports in recent weeks.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the president had signed off on a plan to fire Makary. The report cited three sources familiar with the matter who pointed to Makary's handling of abortion and drug policy.

"I've been reading about it, but I know nothing about it," Trump said that day when reporters asked if Makary would be fired.

The resignation comes one day before Makary was set to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Though Makary's resignation is not attributable to a specific issue, according to the White House official, his tenure at the FDA put him at the center of fights over abortion drug mifepristone, known as the "abortion pill," vaccine policy and drug approvals. Pro-life activists and MAHA-aligned critics argued the agency moved too slowly to carry out Trump’s health agenda.

When Trump was elected, pro-life groups expected the administration to roll back Biden-era rules allowing mifepristone to be prescribed online and shipped through the mail. The FDA left those rules intact. Last year, under Makary’s leadership, the agency approved a new generic version of the pill.

"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," Live Action president Lila Rose told Fox News Digital ahead of Makary’s resignation.

"What a mess Makary turned out to be," a Trump administration official told Fox News Digital earlier in May. The official claimed the commissioner’s comments and actions showed pro-life advocates that their concerns were an afterthought.

"The arrogance is stunning," the official added.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told the Wall Street Journal earlier in May that "Trump is the problem" when it comes to abortion issues falling off for the GOP in recent years. She said candidates wanting her group’s $160 million for the midterms and 2028 presidential election must commit to pro-life action at the national level.

Makary’s exit follows a series of high-profile departures this year, including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.