On Tuesday, the White House announced that FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary is stepping down following a 13-month run leading the agency. Dr. Makary was a longtime surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is a professor emeritus at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Kyle Diamantas, JD, the Agency’s Deputy Commissioner for Food, has been appointed acting commissioner. Given his background in food policy and familiarity with the dietary supplement industry, some industry observers said Diamantas’ appointment could provide continuity for food and supplement-related issues during the leadership transition.
“With Kyle Diamantas serving as Acting Commissioner, it seems that we can be assured that supplement and food issues will not be short-changed at the Commissioner level while he holds the position,” said Ivan Wasserman, Managing Partner, Amin Wasserman Gurnani LLP.
During a fireside chat hosted by the Natural Products Association (NPA) last month, Diamantas stated that dietary supplement modernization is “top of mind,” adding that “The supplement industry has just grown tremendously, not just in size, but in scope and scale over the last 30 years, and our regulatory framework just really has not adapted adequately to address that.”
Leadership turnover
Makary led the agency for 13 months before stepping down amid broader leadership turnover and ongoing staffing disruptions across federal health agencies.
“Since 1907, there have been 27 Commissioners of the FDA (including two who served twice), and eight acting commissioners,” said Wasserman. “Makary’s wasn’t the shortest tenure (Lester Crawford served two months), and most did not leave meaningful lasting legacies. As a political appointment, it is of course a position that will often change with the political winds and changes at the top.”
He added that while FDA commissioner turnover is not uncommon across administrations, the timing is particularly significant given recent staffing disruptions across federal health agencies.
“This has to be considered in the context of DOGE’s mass and seemingly indiscriminate firings of thousands at the FDA and sister agencies last year, and changes in many leadership positions and the attendant loss of institutional knowledge. While I know that many dedicated, hard-working public servants remain at their desks in Rockville and College Park, this upheaval, including now the canning of the big boss, and the unknown of who could be next, simply has to be impacting performance and morale,” Wasserman said.
Indeed, Makary’s exit from the Trump administration marks yet another profile departure in recent months. This year, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi were let go. Last month, Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired and former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer left amid a misconduct probe.
Ousted over flavored vapes?
Reports surrounding Makary’s departure pointed to disagreements over several regulatory and public health issues, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump’s pro-flavored vapes stance. According to Politico, the White House approved the decision to let Makary go, while Secretary Kennedy ultimately made the call.
During his tenure, Makary also drew criticism from stakeholders across the food, pharmaceutical, biotech and tobacco sectors, as well as other allies of President Donald Trump over several policy initiatives and regulatory decisions.
Trades weigh in
Graham Rigby, president and CEO of the American Herbal Products Association, said the organization remains committed to working closely with FDA leadership during the transition.
“AHPA has furthered strong relationships with a number of appointed and unappointed agency leaders under this administration, including Kyle Diamantas. We look forward to our continued collaboration with him and his team at FDA to advance a regulatory environment that supports both innovation and consumer safety.”
Loren Israelsen, United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) founder and president, told NutraIngredients that the dietary supplement industry has worked closely with Acting Commissioner Diamantas on a number of key issues.
“Recently he opened the March 27 public meeting on Exploring the Scope of Dietary Supplement Ingredients,” Israelsen said. “His comments were well received and we look forward to working with him and the ODSP to realize the full potential of DSHEA.”
“Throughout his tenure, Commissioner Makary consistently recognized and publicly emphasized the important role self-care products play in expanding access, lowering costs, and helping Americans more easily manage their health,” said Consumer Healthcare Products Association president & CEO Scott Melville.
“The unprecedented pace of leadership transition across the FDA this past year underscores the need for regulatory stability, predictability, and continuity. It’s essential to protect public health, maintain consumer confidence, and enable industry innovation.
“CHPA looks forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Acting Commissioner Diamantas and the broader FDA leadership team to help translate access and affordability priorities into policies and actions that expand Americans’ ability to obtain safe, effective, and reliable self-care products.”
The Council for Responsible Nutrition and the Natural Products Association declined to comment.
All eyes on FDA
With dietary supplement companies already navigating shifting regulatory priorities, the leadership transition adds yet another layer of uncertainty at one of the industry’s most influential agencies. From tariffs and NDIs to GMP enforcement and more, industry stakeholders will now be watching whether Diamantas maintains existing enforcement priorities or shifts focus toward the administration’s broader “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
According to a post by Secretary Kennedy on X, the search for a new commissioner is underway and moving “forward with urgency.” In the post, he thanked Makary and expressed “full confidence” in Diamantas as acting FDA chief.
Makary’s departure may not be the last, with one source telling NutraIngredients that additional FDA leadership changes are expected to follow in the coming days as the administration continues to reshape the agency.
