Tracy Beth Høeg, a top Food and Drug Administration official who co-authored an assessment recommending fewer childhood vaccines for every child, announced on social media that she had been fired.Høeg was instrumental in efforts to reduce the list of routine shots recommended for all babies and children. Released in early January, medical experts decried the schedule as bypassing the government’s typical process for recommending vaccines and argued the effort was built on faulty assumptions. A federal judge in March blocked the overhaul of the immunization schedule. Today marked 6 months as head of CDER at @FDA & today I was firedI’m incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to serve this country & proud of the work we didFDA staff are smart, talented, supportive & don’t get enough creditI learned so much & leave with no regrets pic.twitter.com/WqpBZuRIFq— Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD (@TracyBethHoeg) May 16, 2026
Trump health officials are broadly overhauling FDA leadership, swapping out some of former commissioner Marty Makary’s top lieutenants amid his departure from the agency that oversees the safety of vaccines and medications, infant formula, tobacco products, and the bulk of the U.S. food supply. Neither Høeg nor the Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to a request for comment. “I’m incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to serve this country & proud of the work we did,” Høeg said on X. “FDA staff are smart, talented, supportive & don’t get enough credit.”Makary resigned his post as FDA commissioner after months of turmoil at the agency and White House staff signing off on a plan to replace him. Makary had recently clashed with White House and other officials in recent weeks over whether to allow sales of flavored vapes. Makary’s allies have characterized his resignation as a matter of principle. Kyle Diamantas, who helmed the agency’s food program, has taken over as acting commissioner amid a search for Makary’s replacement.Høeg, a sports medicine specialist and epidemiologist, was one of Makary’s top deputies. Høeg had been a prominent critic of broad childhood coronavirus vaccination before landing at the agency last year, and over the summer, she was involved in the investigation into reports of potential deaths from the vaccine. Reuters first reported that Høeg was expected to depart.In December, Høeg became acting director of the agency’s drug center after Richard Pazdur, who briefly held the role, retired amid tensions with Makary. The assessment to reduce shots for children touted Denmark as a model vaccination schedule; Høeg holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Denmark and studied in Copenhagen. Administration health officials said they were aligning the U.S. recommendations to more closely resemble the schedules in other developed countries, saying they believe the change would improve public trust in immunizations and lead to greater uptake of important shots, such as MMR. Michael Davis will become acting director of the drug center. He previously served at the FDA in the office of new drugs from 2016-2022 and returned last year, according to an email to staff sent Friday evening by Diamantas and obtained by The Washington Post. Lowell Zeta, a top agency official who worked in the first Trump administration and landed again at FDA last year, is slated to move into the acting chief of staff role, according to three people familiar with the matter. Diamantas’s email to staff confirmed the change. He also wrote that Karim Mikhail will serve as the acting director of the center for vaccines and complex treatments for difficult diseases. Mikhail began at FDA last year and has experience working at large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechnology start-ups, Diamantas wrote.“To our career staff, you hold the public trust, and I respect your judgment and your dedication to the mission as we navigate this transition together,” Diamantas wrote in a separate Friday afternoon email to FDA staff obtained by The Post. “Moving forward, the FDA must continue to engage stakeholders and advocates for innovative perspectives — and just as importantly, empower you to carry out your work with the rigor and purpose our mission demands.”Other agency officials and Makary allies are expected to leave, according to two people familiar with the matter, including Jeremy Walsh, the agency’s chief AI officer, and Sam Doran, the deputy chief of staff. Walsh, Doran and Zeta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Dan Diamond and Lauren Weber contributed to this report.
