FDA’s Top Vaccine Scientist, Dramatically Resigns & Blames HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
We are about 70 days into President Donald Trump’s second term, and the seismic staffing shakeups throughout the Great Bureaucracy continue.
Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has resigned, citing significant disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policies.
Marks, who served as the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since 2016, dramatically announced his resignation in a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, stating it would take effect on April 5.
Marks blamed Kennedy for his departure, essentially smearing the new HHS Secretary on the way out of the door.
Peter Marks offered his letter of resignation to Health and Human Services (HHS) officials on Friday, after being given a choice between resigning or being fired.”It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Mr Marks wrote in a resignation letter, obtained by multiple US media outlets, referring to the agency’s new leader Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Now, there is a lot to unpack with this incident. In November, the American people voted for President Donald Trump, whose platform included Kennedy’s vision for more vaccine testing and less reliance on vaccines as a cure-all.
Marks had a choice: Adopt the new strategy or leave. He chose to leave.
Kennedy, who in his years as an anti-vaccine activist criticized measles shots and boosted vitamin A as a treatment, is now using his government position to tout the vitamin’s accepted benefits. He has also said that receiving the measles vaccine should be a personal choice. Experts acknowledge that vitamin A can be beneficial after someone has become sickened, but they say it is not a replacement for vaccination to prevent measles.“It is unconscionable with measles outbreaks to not have a full-throated endorsement of measles vaccinations,” Marks told The Post.The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Department of Health and Human Services official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that Marks did not have a “place at FDA” if he did not buy into Kennedy’s vision for the agency.
Leaving is a valid choice, and we will see if Kennedy’s approach is better than Marks’ vision.
I will simply note that Marks played a critical role in the development and authorization of COVID vaccines during the pandemic. As the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) since 2016, Marks led vaccine-related efforts, including “Operation Warp Speed,” a Trump administration initiative that accelerated vaccine development by allocating $18 billion to expedite production while maintaining safety and efficacy standards.
While that may have initially been a sound game plan, Marks bitterly clung to the vaccine-oriented approach, even as the vaccinated got “break-through” cases and concerns arose about side effects.
Marks played a significant role in expediting the approval of the Pfizer vaccine’s Biologics License Application (BLA), which was necessary for implementing Biden’s insidious vaccine mandate. This process faced criticism for allegedly sidelining dissenting experts and prioritizing speed over thorough evaluation.
The impact of these decisions has led to a steady decline in the trust the public has in its health agencies.
- Trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fell from 66% in June 2023 to 61% in early 2025.
- Trust in the FDA declined from 65% to 53%, and trust in state/local public health officials decreased from 64% to 54% during the same period.
And while the American press is twisting their reports to make it appear Marks is nobly falling on his sword because of sacred science, many Americans are rejoicing at the news.
Finally, I have a DOGE Update for the agencies overseen by Kennedy. Under the current restructuring plan, approximately 1,200 employees have been fired from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These layoffs are part of broader cuts across HHS, which aim to reduce its workforce by 10,000 positions, consolidating divisions and halving regional offices.
The best news: there are still over 1300 days left in the current Trump term. I intend to enjoy them all, especially the resignations and firings of those who seek to undermine what I voted for.
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