FDA Leadership Shakeup Continues as Hoeg Replaced

Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug research center, said on May 15 that she had been fired from her position, days after the FDA commissioner resigned.

“Today I was fired I’m incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to serve this country & proud of the work we did FDA staff are smart, talented, supportive & don’t get enough credit I learned so much & leave with no regrets,” Hoeg wrote in a Facebook post. She had been in the job for six months.

The FDA’s website now lists Michael Davis as the acting drug research center director.

Davis was previously the deputy director of the center, formally known as the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which regulates certain medical products throughout their lifecycle and oversees the development of new and generic drugs.

Marty Makary resigned as FDA commissioner on May 12. He was replaced by Kyle Diamantas, who was the FDA’s deputy commissioner for food.

The FDA has come under scrutiny from some politicians for different reasons.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) held a hearing in February on how regulatory processes and standards at the FDA can unintentionally delay patient access to safe therapies, particularly for individuals living with rare diseases.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote a letter on May 12 to the FDA claiming that the Trump administration had a “disturbing pattern of political interference in the publication of scientific research about vaccines.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) celebrated the resignation of Makary as FDA commissioner.

“Dr. Makary was uniquely destructive to the prolife movement,” Hawley wrote on X on May 12. “He attempted to place pro-abortion lawyers in key positions. He slow walked a vitally necessary review of the abortion drug mifepristone. He used his discretion to approve a new abortion drug when the data shows it sends 1 in 10 women to the emergency room. He froze out prolife leaders and repeatedly stonewalled Congress. His resignation is an opportunity for the FDA to reset.”

Hawley introduced a bill in March to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used to medically induce abortions.

Hawley previously called the FDA’s delay in reviewing mifepristone “totally unacceptable.”

The FDA’s fiscal year 2026 budget was decreased by $271 million from the previous year to a total budget of $6.8 billion. The fiscal 2026 budget cut 1,940 full-time jobs from the previous year.

The FDA didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.