New FDA Chief Martin Makary Says DOGE Cuts Haven’t Hit Science Staff

Martin Makary, the newly sworn-in commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said funding cuts initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have not impacted the agency’s core scientific staff. Speaking at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C. today (April 24), Makary reaffirmed his commitment to leading the FDA with “gold standard science” and “common sense.”

The Trump administration’s cost-cutting campaign has eliminated approximately 3,500 jobs at the FDA. Makary clarified that the cuts were largely concentrated in the agency’s communications, IT, legislative, and policy teams. “None of the cuts were to scientific reviewers or inspectors,” he said during an onstage conversation with PBS anchor Amna Nawaz, noting that the agency continues to prioritize faster drug approvals.

Makary pointed out that the FDA’s headcount had doubled over the past two decades, standing at around 19,000 employees before the latest cuts. That growth, he said, led to administrative silos and inefficiencies—making some reductions necessary.

One particularly controversial termination was Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator for over eight years. Marks, who served as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and played a central role in the accelerated development of COVID-19 vaccines during Trump’s first term, said he was forced out by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Marks’ removal has sparked concerns about the administration’s stance on vaccines. Earlier this month, HHS issued a pointed statement: if Marks “does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy.”

Makary pushed back on the characterization of Marks as a vaccine expert, pointing out that his background is in hematology (which studies blood-related diseases), not vaccinology. “He was overseeing a division that houses the vaccine research center,” Makary said, adding that Marks had previously pushed out two senior scientists—Marion Gruber and Philip Krause—over disagreements on Covid-19 booster recommendations for children. “So, the irony that he’s the top vaccine expert is that he pushed out two top career scientists at the vaccine center,” Makary added.

Makary reiterated his stance on vaccines: “Vaccines save lives, and any death from a vaccine-preventable illness is a tragedy.”

However, he has criticized the agency’s pandemic-era approach, particularly regarding quarantine and vaccine recommendations for children. “The worst thing you can do as a doctor is to put out a recommendation with such absolutism when the reality is that data is very fuzzy or there’s no data,” he said.

Before his public service appointment, Makary was a professor at Johns Hopkins University specializing in surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery. He is widely recognized for co-developing the surgical safety checklist and for founding the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research.