RFK Jr.’s โคFDA Rocked by Chief’s Abrupt Exit, Staff Exodus & Conduct Investigation
Washington D.C. – Theโ Food adn Drug Management is in turmoil following the sudden resignation of its โdrug unit chief,โ George Tidmarsh, and revelations of a conduct investigation, adding tooโฃ a growing wave of โขdisruptionโ under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert โฃF. Kennedy Jr.’s โleadership.
Tidmarsh’s departureโฃ comes amid โa โlawsuit alleging he attempted to extort a “former business associate,” Aurinia โขPharmaceuticals’ Jing Tang. Tidmarsh โขdenied the allegations in an interview โคwithโ Stat News. โThe lawsuit, as reported by the New York Times, claimsโฃ Tidmarsh “attempted to extort” Tang.
Prior to his resignation, Tidmarsh was placedโ on administrative โขleave after the FDA’s office of โthe general counsel and office of the โคinspector general wereโ alertedโฃ to “serious concerns โคabout his personal conduct,”โ an โฃFDA spokesperson confirmedโฃ to โthe Times.
Tidmarsh’s โคtenure โฃat the FDA wasโ alsoโ marked by criticismโ of a shift away from expert review of new drugs. He previously โstated that โadvisory committee meetings for newโค drugs are “a tremendous amount of workโฃ for theโ company and for the FDA.โ We want to use that work and our time to focus on theโค big questions,” according to โCBS News.
The leadership vacuum โคhas sparked alarm within the agency. Axios reported on text messages โfrom โFDA staffers expressing “dismay” and aโ growingโค desire to leave, particularly given the recent departure of experienced careerโ officials. A former โขFDAโค staffer toldโ Axios, “I don’t know that โฃI’ve talked to anyoneโ who’s โฃhappy there.”
Tidmarsh’s exit isโ the latest in aโค series of โขsignificantโค personnel โchangesโ within the HHS since โKennedy Jr. took office. Earlier this year, the HHS fired thousands of staff, and โคtheโ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention โฃsaw several top officials resign in protestโ of kennedy’s policies.In โคJune, Kennedy Jr. dismissed allโข members of the CDC’sโค vaccine advisory committee. โLast โคmonth, โคsix former U.S. Surgeonsโ General published an op-ed โwarning that โKennedy Jr.poses a “profound, immediate and unprecedented threat” to โAmericans’ โคhealthโค and urging โขhis resignation, as reported โby Gizmodo.
