Dr. Marty Makary, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned on Tuesday, making him the fifth Senate-confirmed health official to leave their position since early 2025.
Makary joins a growing list of departures that is reshaping the federal health landscape in the United States under President Donald Trump. As more confirmed officials leave these positions, Trump-appointed replacements have taken over as “acting” officials under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. But these temporary leaders are not Senate-confirmed like their predecessors — a shift that law experts suggest could impact public health and safety jurisdiction.
“If you don’t have a Senate-confirmed candidate, you’re in considerable difficulty, because that person is subject to political interference,” Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who specializes in global health law, told HuffPost. “There is no congressional check on what that person does.”
The Senate appointment system aims to ensure that, while the president can appoint nominees for these high-ranking officials, the Senate has the final say in making sure these administrators operate with independent, nonpartisan leadership.
