MD REPORTS

MD REPORTS

EXCLUSIVE: FDA official Tracy Høeg fired after refusing to resign

Høeg says she first learned about rumours of her departure through media reports before being told by FDA officials to resign or be terminated.

Maryanne Demasi, PhD's avatar
Maryanne Demasi, PhD
May 15, 2026
∙ Paid

Just days after the resignation of former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, one of his closest allies says she was summoned to her office and told to resign or be fired.

Dr Tracy Beth Høeg — the physician-scientist who became one of the most visible figures in the FDA’s post-Covid reform movement — says she first learned about her apparent departure through media reports.

At the time, she dismissed the reports as ‘rumours’ because nobody inside the agency had told her anything.

Then, hours later, two FDA officials arrived at her office and told her she could either resign or be terminated.

Høeg refused to resign.

“I said I didn’t want to resign,” Høeg told MD Reports in an exclusive interview. “I said I’m not signing a letter of resignation if it’s not my choice.”

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