U.S. News

FDA’s Makary Was Forced to Approve Flavored Vapes He Opposed, Then He Resigned

By Mike Harper · May 13, 2026

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved fruit-flavored e-cigarettes from vaping company Glas Inc. It was a decision FDA Commissioner Marty Makary had been resisting for months. According to a source familiar with the matter, Trump personally pressured him to approve the flavored vapes — which Makary opposed because of youth appeal concerns — and Makary had been forced to comply.

On Tuesday, Makary resigned. He was scheduled to testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday about the FDA’s budget.

He did not stay to testify.

Trump confirmed Makary’s departure to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, describing him with the same words he has used for nearly every official who has left his administration: “He’s a great doctor. He was having some difficulty. He’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life.” Later, Trump posted a screenshot of Makary’s resignation text: “It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your FDA Commissioner. I am forever grateful.”

CNN reported that Trump had signed off on a plan to fire Makary the previous week, after pressure from a faction of White House and HHS officials who had grown frustrated with what they described as an FDA marked by “constant chaos, internal clashes and policy confusion.” The anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America had also been pushing for Makary’s ouster, calling for him to be “fired immediately” over his handling of mifepristone — the abortion pill he had promised to review during his confirmation hearing but had not acted on.

The specific trigger, according to multiple sources, was the vaping dispute. Makary had resisted internal efforts to approve flavored e-cigarettes, citing youth appeal. He lost that fight when the Glas Inc. approval went through Monday. A source told CBS News that Makary didn’t want to approve the flavored varieties “but has been forced to by the powers that be.” Makary chose to resign rather than publicly defend at a congressional hearing a policy decision he had opposed.

His replacement — effective immediately in an acting capacity — is Kyle Diamantas, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for food. Diamantas is a lawyer. He does not have a medical degree. He now oversees the agency responsible for regulating every drug, vaccine, and medical device sold in the United States.

The reaction inside the FDA was striking. Career FDA officials told CBS News there was “widespread joy and relief” among rank-and-file employees when Makary’s departure was announced. One senior official described Makary as engaging in “endless self-promotion” and unprecedented “micromanaging and meddling in activities commissioners used to not interfere with.” Officials said staff would often find out about new FDA initiatives through press releases rather than internal communication. Under Makary, they said, an exodus of veteran scientists had left divisions “significantly understaffed” and a fast-track approval voucher program had forced “virtually impossible levels of work” on depleted teams.

Makary is the fourth high-profile departure from the Trump administration’s health apparatus this year — following multiple reshufflings at HHS and NIH. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted a lengthy tribute praising Makary’s accomplishments and said the search for a permanent replacement was “already underway.” A new commissioner will require Senate confirmation, a process that has consistently produced friction for Trump-era health nominees. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who nearly blocked RFK Jr.’s confirmation — would be a key vote, and Trump has backed a Republican primary challenger trying to unseat him.

The agency Diamantas now runs in an acting capacity is in the middle of reviewing the safety of mifepristone, navigating pharmaceutical industry frustration over unexpected drug rejections, and managing staff turnover at levels described internally as a crisis. The FDA’s annual budget hearing, which Makary was supposed to present Tuesday, will now need to be rescheduled.