Marty Makary, the Johns Hopkins surgeon who President Donald Trump chose to lead the Food and Drug Administration, fended off pressure from Republican and Democratic senators Thursday over a canceled agency meeting on influenza vaccines.
Questioned by several lawmakers at a hearing held to evaluate his nomination, Makary would not commit to reconvening the meeting, at which agency advisers were set to discuss the composition of this year’s flu shots. Members of the panel were notified last week that they would not meet as scheduled.
Instead, Makary seemed to indicate he would take a broader look at the role the advisory committee plays in the FDA’s vaccine decisionmaking and whether it is providing useful advice.
“You have my commitment to review what the committees are doing [and] how they are being used,” Makary told Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., who serves as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee reviewing Markary’s nomination.
While the advisory committee in question typically endorses recommendations set by an international group, the meeting’s cancellation set off alarms among some experts concerned that newly confirmed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might push the FDA to change its vaccine review processes. Kennedy has spent years challenging vaccination policies in the U.S. and has questioned the benefits of certain standard shots like those for measles and hepatitis B.
Cassidy, who previously extracted several vaccine-related promises from Kennedy, noted how the meeting’s cancellation “seems to go backwards” on Kennedy’s calls for transparency in the federal government’s medical decisionmaking.
“How can you as FDA commissioner advocate for that transparency?” Cassidy said. “Obviously canceling that meeting will shut that door a little bit.”
Makary responded by repeating he was not involved in the decision to cancel, which seemed to somewhat exasperate Cassidy.
“Man, we’re voting for you. How are you going to make it happen?” Cassidy responded.
Other senators, including Democrats Patty Murray of Washington, Tammy Baldwin of Wisonsin and Republican Susan Collins of Maine, questioned how Makary would manage the advisory committee if confirmed as commissioner.
“I would reevaluate which topics deserve a convening of the advisory committee members on [the vaccine panel] and which may not require a convening,” Makary said in response to a question from Murray.
And in answering Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Makary echoed concerns over the potential for conflicts of interest among committee members, a complaint that Kennedy has frequently leveled against the FDA in general. (Committee members are vetted for conflicts and disclose any relevant ties to industry.)
“I think it deserves a look,” said Makary, adding that he wants to review the ethics policies for advisory committees.
If confirmed as FDA commissioner, Makary would oversee an agency that regulates large swathes of the U.S. economy, including foods, tobacco, drugs and medical devices. Beyond the regular demands of the job, Makary would need to lead the FDA through potentially significant reorganization as the Trump administration has ordered a large-scale reduction in the federal workforce.
Layoffs have already hit the FDA, although some staff were later asked to return to their jobs. Unlike other agencies, a good portion of the FDA’s work is funded by industry user fees.
While he is seen as a more conventional pick than Kennedy, Makary has also criticized the FDA in the past, particularly for some of the decisions it made during the pandemic. An author of several books, Makary has attacked what he terms scientific “groupthink” and called for the reevaluation of certain medical “dogmas” around topics like peanut allergies and hormone replacement therapy.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional background detail.
