President Donald Trump is expected to fire Marty Makary, the head of the US Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to turbulence at the medicines regulator and throwing into doubt drug approvals for the biotech industry.
The White House was on Friday searching for a replacement for Makary, the people said. The White House and FDA declined to comment.
In recent days, Makary has come under pressure from anti-abortion advocates, a crucial voting bloc for Trump in the forthcoming midterm elections. Makary’s expected firing was in part because of the FDA’s positions on abortion pills, people in Washington said on Friday. The Susan B Anthony anti-abortion advocacy group on Monday said Makary “should be fired immediately”.