Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty McCulley speaks during a presentation at the Department of Health and Human Services on December 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
Dr. Marty McCurry resigned as FDA commissioner on Tuesday, ending a controversial tenure at the health agency.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Kyle Diamantas, who previously served as the FDA’s top food official, will serve as acting director. Earlier, in remarks to reporters, President Trump called McCurry a “great guy” and said, “He’s going to keep going and he’s going to have a good life.”
President Trump shared a second post showing what was purported to be a resignation message from McCurry. In his message, McCurry touted his role in the FDA’s priority review process, highlighting changes to the agency that have sped up approval of some drugs.
True social posts by US President Donald Trump about FDA Commissioner Marty McCulley.
Donald Trump, via Truth Social
After days of reports that the White House was planning to fire him, senior administration officials confirmed Tuesday that McCurry had resigned. Mr. McCurry will be replaced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the official added. The administration hopes to name a replacement for Mr. McCurry in the coming weeks, but the official cautioned that it is too early to name a replacement.
McCurry, a surgical oncologist known for criticizing the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, served as head of the agency responsible for regulating food, drugs and medical devices for more than a year.
His tenure was marked by internal dysfunction and leadership turmoil at the FDA, along with growing pushback from drug companies, doctors and patient groups over regulatory decisions such as high-profile rejections of some rare disease drugs. At the same time, the White House was reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated by what it viewed as Trump’s slow movement on key policy initiatives, such as legalizing flavored e-cigarettes.
The influential Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group had also called for McCulley’s removal over the FDA’s handling of the abortion drug mifepristone. McCurry was reportedly slow to review the safety of the pill, which can be mailed to states with abortion restrictions. Mr. McCurry’s successor will inherit that review and the difficult politics surrounding abortion.
Administration officials said they could not point to any single issue that led to McCurry’s firing, but said it was a combination of many issues. Abortion was one such issue.
Despite controversy over recent drug rejections, the pharmaceutical industry appears wary of a shakeup at the top of the FDA. The pharmaceutical industry is negotiating a reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Act fees that outline the fees the FDA collects from drug companies to fund reviews.
Morale among the agency’s staff has plummeted following layoffs and retirements of career agency scientists, including longtime cancer regulator Dr. Richard Pazdur, who cited McCurry’s leadership as the reason for his departure. Meanwhile, distrust of the leadership is reportedly growing among the remaining staff.
Among Mr. McCully’s most divisive appointments was Vinay Prasad, who resigned at the end of April after serving as a key official at the agency that oversees vaccines and biotech treatments. Prasad, an outspoken academic and podcaster, left the agency amid mounting criticism of the agency among the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and former health officials.
For example, the FDA initially refused to review Moderna’s flu shot, but the biotech company said the decision was inconsistent with previous agency guidance, specifically stemming from Prasad. The FDA has since reversed course on the vaccine.
Prasad also faced backlash earlier this year for rejecting UniQure’s Huntington’s disease gene therapy, which he claimed was required by the FDA to perform fake brain surgeries to assess whether the treatment was effective. In an interview with CNBC in March, McCurry appeared to criticize the treatment without naming names.
In April, the FDA rejected Reprimune’s melanoma drug candidate for the second time, following an initial rejection in July. The agency cited insufficient evidence of efficacy and took issue with the single-arm trial design.
In an interview with CNBC in May, McCurry said three independent teams had come to the same conclusion about the drug and that the FDA was not engaged in a “fraudulent sweetheart deal.”
“I don’t work for Replimune, I work for the American people and I support the scientists at the FDA,” McCulley said in an interview with CNBC’s David Faber.
In March, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) announced an investigation into the FDA’s denial of rare disease treatments.
To install a new commission, Mr. Trump would likely need to secure the support of Sen. Bill Cassidy, a former physician who narrowly blocked the confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Mr. Trump has endorsed candidates seeking to unseat Republican senators from Louisiana, potentially complicating that effort.
