Senate confirms Martin Makary for FDA commissioner

Lia DeGroot, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 25, 2025

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The Senate late Tuesday voted 56-44 to confirm Martin Makary to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

Makary, a former Johns Hopkins University surgeon and author, has been widely seen as a more middle-of-the-road pick compared to Trump’s other choices to lead the Department of Health and Human Services’ subagencies.

He will take over leadership of the agency as the FDA has been targeted by sweeping cuts by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Makary said during his confirmation hearing that he will review recent cuts to the FDA’s workforce.

“I have not been involved in any of the decisions regarding any of the personnel changes recently, but if confirmed, you have my commitment that I’ll do an assessment,” he said during his March 6 appearance before the Senate, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The HELP committee advanced Makary’s nomination on a 14-9 vote March 13, with Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voting to advance his nomination.

Hickenlooper voted against his confirmation Tuesday night.

Still, Makary picked up a trio of Democratic votes — Hassan, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill.

Makary has criticized school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and was skeptical of the need for COVID-19 boosters in kids.

But on the whole, he threw his support behind vaccines, an area that has become controversial with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s history of vaccine skepticism.

“(V)accines save lives, and I do believe that any child who dies on a vaccine-preventable illness is a tragedy in the modern era,” Makary said.

Makary will join the agency as the future of the FDA’s advisory committee system appears to be in flux. The agency last month abruptly canceled the meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee during which they were expected to make a recommendation on which flu strain to target with the fall and winter vaccine rollout.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the HELP committee, applauded Makary’s confirmation. “Dr. Makary’s medical background and strong vision make him more than qualified to lead the FDA,” he said.

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