Trump eyes Johns Hopkins expert to run America's biggest drug watchdog
Trump plans to put **Martin Makary** in charge of the FDA‚ sources say. The Johns Hopkins surgeon who co-created a global surgery safety checklist might replace current commissioner Califf
Sources close to the matter say Donald Trump will pick Johns Hopkins surgeon Martin Makary to run FDA (an agency with over $7-billion yearly spending)
In the mid-2020s Makary got attention for his covid-related positions; he supported natural immunity protection and didnt back vaccine requirements. His latest book “Blind Spots“ came out this fall: discussing what he sees as too-much medical treatment in the US
The FDA watches over many health-related areas including:
- Medicine and vaccines
- Food safety rules
- Medical equipment
- Tobacco products
- Beauty items
- Radiation-producing devices
The Trump team spokesman Brian Hughes wont confirm anything yet about the pick. Makary would work under Robert F Kennedy Jr - Trumps choice for health department chief (known for his non-standard vaccine views)
Makary brings real medical experience - he helped create the Surgery Checklist thats now used world-wide. He lives in Baltimore works with the right-leaning Paragon Health Institute and speaks up about fixing medical school teaching cutting back on antibiotic use and looking again at hormone treatments for women
If the Senate says yes Makary would take over from Dr Robert Califf who ran FDA twice; first under Obama then again recently where he worked on food safety and fought wrong medical info on social media
