BOSTON — Three former Food and Drug Administration chiefs lit into the Trump administration Wednesday, criticizing the now former FDA officials who oversaw a massive staffing exodus and robbed the agency of institutional knowledge that will take years to restore.
“DOGE will go down as one of the biggest disasters in American history,” Rob Califf, former FDA commissioner under Presidents Obama and Biden, said during the STAT Summit, referring to the Elon Musk-led initiative that conducted mass layoffs of government employees. The DOGE cuts of 3,500 workers preceded a larger staff exodus under the tumultuous leadership of former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who resigned in May. White House official Heidi Overton has since been nominated to replace Makary, though she has yet to face a Senate confirmation vote.