What happened in this Health story?

Three former FDA commissioners — Califf, Gottlieb, and Sharpless — denounced DOGE's 3,500-worker cuts and the subsequent staff exodus under former Commissioner Marty Makary at the STAT Summit, warning that rebuilding institutional knowledge will take years.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Robert Califf**, former FDA commissioner under Obama and Biden, called DOGE "one of the biggest disasters in American history" at the STAT Summit in Boston, joined by former commissioners **Scott Gottlieb** and **Ned Sharpless** in criticizing the cuts and ensuing staffing exodus.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

The **DOGE** initiative cut 3,500 FDA workers, preceding a larger exodus under former Commissioner **Marty Makary**, who resigned in May; White House official **Heidi Overton** has been nominated to replace him but has not yet faced a Senate confirmation vote.

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Three Ex-FDA Chiefs Call DOGE 'Biggest Disaster' — SkimNews

By STAT News · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-14

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Robert Califf, former FDA commissioner under Obama and Biden, called DOGE "one of the biggest disasters in American history" at the STAT Summit in Boston, joined by former commissioners Scott Gottlieb and Ned Sharpless in criticizing the cuts and ensuing staffing exodus.
The DOGE initiative cut 3,500 FDA workers, preceding a larger exodus under former Commissioner Marty Makary, who resigned in May; White House official Heidi Overton has been nominated to replace him but has not yet faced a Senate confirmation vote.
Sharpless called the cuts "arbitrary" and said companies now find themselves facing more junior, less experienced drug and medical device reviewers, adding that the agency "lost a lot of institutional memory."
The former officials praised acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas and policy lead Grace Graham as providing "sensible leadership," with Califf noting "the sowers of chaos came and went."
Califf and Gottlieb sharply criticized HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for eroding trust in vaccines, with Gottlieb saying he needed to hire extra personal security after publicly opposing Kennedy's nomination.
The panelists urged Overton, if confirmed, to focus on recruiting, supporting, and defending the workforce against political meddling and further firings — not just refilling positions — to restore agency confidence.
Sharpless said the FDA should stick to its statutory role of prioritizing safe and effective medicine rather than tackling drug prices or vaccine hesitancy, which fall outside its mandate.

Why it matters: The loss of 3,500 DOGE-cut positions plus a subsequent exodus under Makary has left drug and medical device reviewers more junior and less experienced, a problem the former chiefs say will take years to reverse even with new acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas in place — and one compounded by RFK Jr.'s vaccine policy push and unresolved Senate confirmation for nominee Heidi Overton.