FDA officials are considering how to deal with RFK Jr., including leaving

Some employees at the Food and Drug Administration are considering a quick exit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated as a potential health care official in the incoming Trump administration, according to three former and one current administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive topics. The former officials are still in contact with colleagues who work at the FDA.

Staff turnover is typical when a new administration comes in, and a significant number of FDA employees similarly considered leaving before President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office, one former and one current official said. At the time, there were also concerns about what the FDA would look like under the first Trump administration.

But there ended up being “relatively little turnover” at the time, a former official said, adding that Trump’s first term generally worked well for those who remained at the FDA as they were able to “execute” on new priorities for the agency, such as accelerated drug approvals.

This time, however, there is an extra layer of anxiety outside of Trump: Kennedy.

“With the first administration, many took a wait-and-see approach. Now, between concerns about new post-employment restrictions and the risk of involuntary separation, more people are looking proactively,” said a former official.

The current official agreed with that assessment, adding that “dozens” are most likely considering their options.

It’s not yet known what kind of health care role Kennedy will have in the administration — if any — but Trump has said he will let the former independent presidential candidate and vaccine skeptic “go wild on health.” Meanwhile, Kennedy is promising an overhaul of federal health agencies, including the FDA, telling NBC News the day after the election that “in some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition division of the FDA, that are going to go away. .”

“The question now is, will the agency have leadership that is able to come in and continue to push innovative new products, or will there be leadership that tries to shake things up in a way that may actually make it more difficult for the agency to carry out its core mission?” said one of the former officials.

The FDA did not respond to a request for comment on whether employees were considering leaving.

A former official and a current official said that at this point it’s all talk and it’s unclear if anyone has gone yet or made any serious plans to do so.

At a cancer research event Tuesday, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said he was “disappointed” by the election results and was uncertain about the agency’s future.

Asked if he foresees any kind of “mass exodus” of employees, Califf said, “I think people are waiting to see.”

“We just don’t know what’s going to happen now,” Califf said. “I think it’s pretty clear that the core of this administration, from everything that’s been said, is to change a lot of things, and how that gets changed depends on who gets appointed to key positions and how the various policies unfold.”

Trump has also suggested he may seek to end the so-called revolving door, where officials who leave the agency end up lobbying their former colleagues — an added layer of concern for staff about their future job prospects if they stay, one person said.

Another said they weren’t sure what such a restriction would look like or how Trump would make it retroactively binding.

One person said a number of employees at the FDA are retiring and “some may think now would be an appropriate time to do so.” According to the FDA, there are more than 18,000 employees to the agency.

It is also possible that Kennedy will be placed in a role that has little or no influence on the overall functioning of the FDA.

Last month, NBC News reported that the Trump campaign was considering putting Kennedy in charge of what has been described as “Operation Warp Speed ​​for chronic childhood disease,” referring to the title of the Covid vaccine development project during Trump’s first term.

Kennedy has also floated the idea that he would be a “health czar” in the White House.