by Jim Hᴏft
Aug. 3, 2025

Newly appointed FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary pulled no punches as he directly accused the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of funding the lab responsible for creating the virus that sparked the COVID-19 pandemic and claimed the lives of over 20 million people globally.

Speaking to NewsNation’s Connell McShane, Dr. Makary blasted the former NIH leadership for pouring taxpayer dollars into unaccountable pet projects, including the now-infamous lab that engineered the virus that triggered a global pandemic.

Dr. Makary:

The way it used to be. We’re planning to change our health agencies for a generation or longer. Look at the NIH. When J. Bhattacharya came in there, it was a mess. Fourteen percent of the grants were descriptive studies on health equity.

And the NIH had just funded a lab that brewed up a virus that killed 20 million people worldwide. So they’re getting back to studying root causes, a cure for cancer, debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, and they’re going to do good work.

Connell McShane:

Right, but you have to do it with fewer people. Is that a challenge with the cuts, or is that not really what it’s made out to be either?

Dr. Makary:

The FDA is strong, and it’s going to continue to be strong. The cuts were consolidations. There were no layoffs to scientific reviewers or inspectors at the FDA.

There was consolidation of the twelve travel offices at the FDA. And so we’re going to institute teamwork and break up the fiefdom culture within the agency. It’s an interesting conversation.

SNIP