FDA nominee under fire as experts fear Musk and RFK Jr. influence on public health and food safety

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) is concerned about the safety of nutrition, food, and drugs if US President Donald Trump-nominated Dr. Marty Makary is appointed as the US FDA commissioner.

In a sharp critique, CSPI president Dr. Peter Lurie questions the independence of FDA nominee Dr. Makary, suggesting Elon Musk’s influence could overshadow the agency’s leadership.

He adds that if he were a senator conducting the confirmation hearing, his first question would be: “Who, in fact, will be running this agency? You, Dr. Makary? Or Elon Musk and his unaccountable team of technocrats?”

He further criticizes the Tesla Motors CEO and his “legally dubious Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE), which has dismissed new staff hired to investigate the safety of infant formula, respond to foodborne outbreaks, and review the safety of chemicals used in food.

Call to retain scientific knowledge 

Lurie has publicly urged that Makary, should he be confirmed as FDA Commissioner, should halt ongoing and future staff reductions and safeguard scientific expertise crucial to food and drug safety.

“These arbitrary and reckless cuts aren’t making any Americans healthier. Instead, they will increase the likelihood of foodborne illness outbreaks and increase the time necessary for the FDA to solve them.”

“Moreover, if Makary is, like Secretary US Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., concerned with the safety of food additives and dyes, following through with arbitrary, sweeping DOGE cuts will make it harder for the agency to address them.”

Dr. Marty Makary (Image credits: Johns Hopkins surgeon)Carrying on FDA work 

Lurie suggests that if Makary seeks to boost health interventions against chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, he should continue working on front-of-package nutrition labeling and reducing sodium in the food supply.

“That will take staff. If he wants to ensure that chemicals in our food are safe, he will move to close the Generally Recognized as Safe loophole and advance FDA’s post-market assessment initiative. And he’d leave FDA’s new rule on laboratory-developed tests intact.”

“He must not succumb to the extreme, anti-vaccination ideology percolating from elsewhere in the administration. It’s bad enough to have a measles outbreak in the year 2025. We shouldn’t have to worry about a possible polio outbreak in the year 2026 or a pertussis outbreak in 2027,” he concludes.

Vitamins against measles? 

In his recent opinion piece on Fox News, Kennedy discusses the measles outbreak in the US and advocates vaccine intervention alongside good nutrition. The outbreak has led to the first measles-related death — of a young child from Texas — in the US in over a decade. 

Scientific experts have sounded alarm over the opinion piece, which may skew understanding of vitamins as a disease cure, fueling fears of widespread misinformation.

“Tens of thousands died with, or of, measles annually in 19th-century America. By 1960 — before the vaccine’s introduction — improvements in sanitation and nutrition had eliminated 98% of measles deaths. Good nutrition remains the best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses. Vitamins A, C, and D, and foods rich in vitamins B12, C, and E should be part of a balanced diet,” Kennedy suggests.

“While there is no approved antiviral for those who may be infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently updated their recommendation supporting the administration of vitamin A under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate, and severe infection. Studies have found that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality,” he believes.

Lurie suggests Makary continue working on front-of-package nutrition labeling and reducing sodium in the food supply.Amid cuts to scientific research funding, Kennedy was recently tasked with forming a Make Children Healthy Again Strategy to tackle alarming chronic disease rates.

US cuts and health implications

In other moves, the Trump administration is planning budget cuts on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which CPSI told us would risk hunger for children and minority groups and enable tax cuts for the wealthy amid rising food costs.

CSPI also critiqued the FDA for delaying the “healthy” labeling final rule amid Trump’s regulatory freeze, which was supposed to be effective on February 25.

This week, Nutrition Insight examined the role of other nations and the private sector in boosting nutrition security as Western-led aid has been drastically cut.