Senators question Trump FDA nominee on flu shots, mifepristone

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Martin Makary, testified on Thursday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The Johns Hopkins surgeon gained public notoriety as a Fox News commentator who slammed the COVID-19 shutdowns and regularly advocated for greater reliance on herd immunity.

What was his vision for the FDA? Makary, a previously outspoken critic of the FDA, emphasized the need to revamp the agency and regain public trust. He cited his involvement in Trump’s 2019 executive order to lower the cost of hospital care and prescription drugs, as well as to facilitate greater transparency in the medical field.

Makary emphasized the need to address whether or not a spike in chronic illness and obesity in America may be linked to the nation’s food supply. When questioned on his political partisanship, Makary insisted that he merely follows the facts and is not afraid to change his position when given new information. He added that he is never afraid to share his scientific opinion.

Recurring topics:

Vaccines: Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., voiced great concern around the FDA cancelling and not rescheduling a flu advisory committee meeting. The committee is responsible for identifying the anticipated virus strains to create the most effective flu vaccine for the upcoming year. Makary ultimately told Murray that he would reevaluate topics that deserved discussion by the advisory committee if confirmed, but stopped short of promising to reschedule the meeting. Makary described himself as a vaccine supporter, but in the past has insisted that the government dismissed strategies like natural herd immunity too quickly. He has also publicly stated that the blanket COVID-19 vaccine mandates went too far, specifically in regards to children.

Mifepristone: Makary also received several questions around the availability of the abortion inducing drug, mifepristone. He told senators that he planned to examine the data around the drug, but had no preexisting plans to change current policies. He stopped short of backing the drug or promising its continued availability, but insisted that all actions would be based on hard data and scientific opinion.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions questioning Trump’s nominee for director of the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday.