Senate panel OKs Makary’s nomination as FDA commissioner

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted Thursday to advance Marty Makary’s nomination as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He will likely be confirmed in the full Senate.  

Makary, a prominent surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, aligned himself with the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda during his recent Senate confirmation hearing.  

Makary was — like others leading President Trump’s health agencies — a frequent critic of COVID-19 lockdowns and a regular guest on Fox News. But he received rare Democratic support in Thursday’s vote, with Senate committee members voting 14-9 to advance his nomination.

Jay Bhattacharya, Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health, was also advanced by the Senate HELP committee Thursday, but in a party-line 12-11 vote. Dave Weldon, a former congressman and Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), had his nomination pulled an hour before his planned confirmation hearing Thursday morning.

Before ultimately supporting Makary, some Republican senators expressed concern over his decision to appoint Hilary Perkins as top FDA counsel. Perkins defended the availability of the abortion medication mifepristone in a high-profile case during the Biden administration.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he was “alarmed” to learn that Makary had appointed Perkins and said the decision “flew in the face” of what he said regarding abortion medication during his confirmation hearing.  

“It called into question, to me, Dr. Makary’s judgment,” he said. Hawley voted to approve Makary though after learning that he had rescinded his hiring of Perkins for the role.

Hawley’s wife, Erin, a conservative lawyer, has argued in favor of abortion restrictions at the Supreme Court.