Top Trump official out in ‘fourth high-profile departure’ of the year: report

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary stepped down from his position on Tuesday following a long dispute with President Donald Trump over flavored vape nicotine products, making Makary’s exit the “fourth high-profile departure of a member of the Trump administration this year,” NBC News reported.

The dispute centered around Trump’s growing frustration with Makary over his apparent inability to move “quickly enough” in approving flavored vape products for retail sale. The Trump administration pushed to expand the availability of flavored vape products earlier this year, but was rebuked by Makary after his office issued a memo that “prevented the authorization of several flavors,” The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Makary quickly found himself “on thin ice” with the president. And on Tuesday, Makary officially left the Trump administration, according to a U.S. official who revealed the news to Politico on the condition of anonymity.

“The decision to move on from Makary was months in the making, according to a senior administration official granted anonymity to discuss the Johns Hopkins surgeon’s tenure,” reads a Tuesday report from Politico. “His stint was marked by mass layoffs, persistent churn among senior leaders and policy fights with lawmakers, drugmakers and President Donald Trump.”