Dr. Marty McCurry, a candidate who leads the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), appeared on the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee (Help) during a predominantly heartfelt confirmation hearing on March 6.
Surgeons and researchers at Johns Hopkins University have submitted numerous questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on topics ranging from the safety of abortion medications and seed oils to flu vaccines and information transparency.
The FDA is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Like Kennedy, McCurry has criticised the Covid-19 orders for many years, advocating for the removal of chemicals and toxins from the US food supply, and suggesting greater transparency in medicine.
McCurry “we will refocus the institutions,” Trump wrote, “to ensure that our country’s food supply and drugs and biology can poison the biology given to young people in our country, and ultimately deal with the chronic disease epidemic.”
Minutes after Kennedy was sworn in as secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services on February 13, Trump established the Make America Healthy Commission to review the safety of all products regulated by the FDA: antidepressants, vaccines, stimulants, and weight loss drugs.
If confirmed, Makary will examine vaccine safety, research additives and dyes, among other initiatives, and address chronic diseases.
These are one of the topics investigated at the March 6 confirmation hearing. Here are five takeaways from the discussion.
Influenza Vaccine Conference
On February 27, the FDA canceled the annual meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBAC) that normally discusses which strains of flu to target during the usual fall season. McCurry was asked about the moves made by Democrats and Republican lawmakers. He promised to consider the decision if he was confirmed.
On June 5, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration building in White Oak, Maryland. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
“I have my commitment to see what the committee is doing and how it’s being used,” McCurry said.
According to the Trump administration, FDA insiders will determine the stock of Shot and send it to the makers to make sure the updated vaccine is ready for fall.
Help Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was the first to ask about the cancellation of the meeting at Kennedy’s confirmation hearing last month. Cassidy said she is “struggling” to support Kennedy due to the candidate’s comments on the vaccine.
“What’s lost is transparency,” Cassidy said, adding that cutting public discussions about vaccines would undermine Kennedy’s pledge of “radical transparency.”
McCurry repeatedly noted that it was not part of the decision to cancel the VRBAC meeting. He added that the committees often only make “rubber stamps” recommendations approved by the World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Program.
Several Help Committee members asked McCurry to commit to holding a VRBAC meeting if he was confirmed. The candidate declined, saying that the FDA does not require VRBAC input to select influenza vaccine makeup.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called for a decision to scrap the meeting “unprecedented and dangerous.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said he was concerned that the cancellation of the meeting could be a “scheming to set up vaccine skeptics.”
“There is no preconceived notion that you will reposition that committee or committee,” replied McCully. “Secretary Kennedy wants to make America healthy again.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is recognized that President Donald Trump attended a joint Congressional meeting at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Food and Nutrition
In his opening remarks, McCurry showed that he embraced the administration’s healthy American agenda, focusing on tackling chronic and childhood illnesses.
Nutrition is a key component of the agenda, he noted.
“Childhood obesity is not a problem of willpower, and the increase in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is not a genetic cause. We should address foods that affect our health, and we should be,” McCurry said in his opening statement.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) asked McAleey about the FDA’s list of food additives that are rarely regulated because they are classified for being “generally perceived as safe.”
Chemicals in food affect the gut microbiota and cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, McCurry said.
“Now there’s a series of studies that suggest concerns about some of these ingredients. We have to look at those ingredients, and if you’re confirmed as a commissioner for the FDA, you have my commitment to do so,” he said.
Tuberville also asked Makary about the seed oil. Kennedy frequently says that preparing food with beef tallow instead of seed oil makes food healthier.
McCurry noted that further research is needed and that chronic diseases cannot be attributed to one item.
“Seeds are a great example of a place where we can benefit from the integration of scientific research. I don’t think it’s the ingredients in food supply that make children sick in our country,” McCurry said.
He added that he would like to develop a pilot program to make school lunches healthier. The USDA controls the school lunch program, and Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins are expected to cooperate on several food-related issues.
Cafeteria workers will be serving lunch at Medora Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky on March 17, 2021. John Cherry/Getty Images
Transparency
Throughout his confirmation process, and since he took office, Kennedy has spoken several times about his “radical transparency” era within the Department of Health and Human Services. That belief is consistent with previous comments from McCurry.
In 2021, McCurry called for an overhaul of culture and leadership at the FDA.
McCurry said on March 6 that he would carry out Kennedy’s mission of “radical transparency.”
“If confirmed, we hope that the FDA will retain the gold standard of trustworthy science, transparency and common sense, rebuild public trust and make America healthy again,” McCurry said.
His 2012 book, “Immortal,” proposed greater transparency by detailing the issues of American medicine. It later inspired a Fox drama series called “The Resident.”
corruption
Kennedy has been frank about ending what he calls “corporate corruption in government health agencies,” and McCurry showed during his testimony on March 6 that he supports that purpose.
McCurry agreed with Senator Randpole (R-KY.)’s view that FDA staff members and the FDA panel’s expert advisors should disclose whether they will receive royalties from pharmaceutical companies.
“I want American businesses to thrive. I want life science companies to thrive, but I need to call the ball and the strike and release that independent scientific review process from the conflict,” McCurry said.
He asked multiple questions about recent layoffs for FDA staff. Some employees who conducted tests and reviewed medical devices have returned.
McCulley said that if confirmed, the assessment will be conducted “to ensure that scientists and food inspectors have all the resources they need to do their job.”
Dr. Marty McCurry (L), a candidate for President Donald Trump’s Food and Drug Administration, greets Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to testify at a confirmation hearing before the Washington Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on March 6, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Mifepristone
McCully was most often asked about his plans for approval and safety protocols for the chemical abortion drug Mifepristone, which emerged as a hot button issue.
The FDA rolled back safety regulations regarding Mifepristone during the Biden administration. This included in-person screening requirements to estimate pregnancy age and location before prescribing abortion medications.
Cassidy said that research has been conducted on the safety of mifepristone in pregnant women, but that knowledge of the effects of mifepristone on infants whose abortion attempts have failed or reversed is limited.
McCurry said he will follow a “tried, true” independent review process that the FDA has used for decades.
The FDA has continuously collected reports of side effects and complications related to mifepristone, saying McCurry “doesn’t prevent the data without looking at the data.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (DN.H.) told McCurry he would like to commit to making the drug available under the current framework that allows medical professionals to prescribe online.
“The concern is whether to unilaterally reverse data that currently exists for political purposes,” Hassan said. “When you say you’re an independent scientist, we really mean what you mean.”
