FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996
March 6, 2025
Doctors for America’s FDA Task Force Statement on FDA Nomination Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Doctors for America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Task Force remains concerned following today’s Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing to consider Dr. Martin Makary’s nomination to serve as Commissioner of the FDA.
Recently, the FDA has been one of the primary targets of staff and funding cuts initiated by the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The next FDA commissioner should be able to fully publicly commit to protecting the agency’s core programs and missions against these arbitrary and unnecessary cuts. DFA’s FDA Task Force has long called for reforms within the FDA and its drug approval process. However, we have also consistently advocated for a fully funded and staffed FDA, as we recognize this is essential for the agency to be able to fulfill its mission.
Last December, the FDA Task Force sent a letter to members of the Senate HELP Committee asking them to closely examine Dr. Makary’s commitment to preserving the integrity and independence of the agency. Unfortunately, today’s hearing left us concerned that if Dr. Makary is confirmed, he may choose to put politics ahead of patients by allowing DOGE to detrimentally reduce essential staff, undermine the user fee program, and curtail safety and efficacy reviews.
Dr. Makary did make it clear that he was not involved in the decision to cancel the March meeting for the flu vaccine, but he was equivocal about the possible rescheduling. This is concerning given that there is no scientific reasoning for the delay, and raises the possibility that decisions on settled science will be made opaquely and without a sound data-driven rationale – the very opposite of the transparency pledge made by each nominee. In a similar fashion, the data on mifepristone is widely available and widely reviewed and we would expect that Dr. Makary would stand by the science. No evidence that contradicts the basis for relaxing prescription rules of mifepristone was provided at the hearing to justify a re-examination of its use. This raises the possibility that safety will not be the primary driver of decisions about mifepristone.
We sincerely hope that Dr. Makary considers the concerns expressed by several Senators in today’s hearing as his nomination moves forward. Should he be confirmed, DFA’s FDA Task Force would like to work with Dr. Makary and his team to ensure that any reforms made to the FDA will allow the agency to maintain its ‘gold standard’ status and fulfill its mission.
For press inquiries and to speak more on this issue with members of the Doctors for America FDA Task Force please contact Alli Everton with Continuum Health Group ([email protected]).
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. DFA is an organization of over 27,000 physician and medical student advocates in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. DFA teaches physicians and medical students advocacy skills and does advocacy at a state and federal level. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies, which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter drsforamerica or Bluesky drsforamerica.bsky.social.