Washington D.C. – Politico reports Trump FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is being pushed out the door today after recent reports that Donald Trump read Makary the riot act for not moving ‘quickly enough’ to approve flavored vapes and nicotine products, which Trump deems important to “young MAGA voters”. Makary is being replaced by Kyle Diamantas, a thirty-something lawyer whose qualifications for such a critical public health role seem to begin and end at being Don Jr.’s “hunting buddy.”
As Protect Our Care previously documented, Trump’s outrage over not getting addictive and harmful flavored vapes into the hands of young Americans soon enough comes after his inaugural committee took over $3 million from vape industry special interests, including the Vapor Technology Association, $1,250,000; Altria, $1,000,000; Breeze Smoke, $1,000,000; QR Joy, $100,000. In addition, vape producers Altria and Reynolds American have offered to chip in to help pay for Trump’s White House ballroom.
“To be sure, Marty Makary is departing the FDA with a terrible record against the health and safety of the American people — but apparently it wasn’t terrible enough for Donald Trump,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project. “Hesitating to approve flavored vapes and not put American teens on a fast-track to life-long addiction to harmful nicotine products is the bare minimum anyone could hope for from the Trump FDA. But that was a bridge too far for Donald Trump, who sees young people as disposable political pawns that he can appeal to with poison while lining the pockets of his big vape donors. Swapping in Don Jr.’s unqualified hunting buddy to run the show all but guarantees an FDA further consumed by chaos and driven by the wish lists of special interests that want profits put before public health.”
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