Donald Trump reportedly ignored calls from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. not to fire the top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration after a pressure campaign from far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Both Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary opposed the dismissal of Dr. Vinay Prasad as head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, but Trump overruled them and ordered his removal anyway, four unnamed sources told Politico.
Prasad, who had only been in the role for three months, was a controversial choice for the role due to his fierce criticism of the COVID-19 vaccine and the pharmaceutical industry.
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During his brief stint at the FDA, Prasad oversaw the limiting of approval for COVID-19 vaccines and cracked down on Sarepta Therapeutics, a company scrutinized after three people died of liver complications after using its gene therapy drugs to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Loomer, who appears to be increasingly influential in Trump’s inner circle, had mounted a campaign against Prasad in recent weeks. She accused him of being a “self-proclaimed progressive liberal” and a “card-carrying member of the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders fan club.”
Loomer also unearthed a 2021 audio clip of Prasad saying he stabs a voodoo doll to “curse” Trump. The far-right influencer, who has taken credit for the dismissal of numerous officials she has vocally opposed, praised her latest so-called “scalp” on social media.
“Turns out poking Trump voodoo dolls to ‘curse’ Trump only awakened the Trump Curse,” Loomer posted on X.
Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, defended Prasad to Trump as Loomer’s pressure campaign was in full flow, reported The New York Times.
Under Prasad’s watch, the FDA also pressured Sarepta Therapeutics to stop all shipments of its drug Elevidys, used to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare disease with no know cure, after three patients who took the drug died from acute liver failure.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who has ties to Sarepta, proceeded to mount a crusade against Prasad and lobbied in favor of the company. Santorum relayed his concerns about Prasad’s efforts to halt shipments of Elevidys to Kennedy and Makary, as well as the White House.
“I just texted President Trump on Monday just to make sure he was aware of the situation,” Santorum told Politico. “The Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy community is very concerned about some recent actions the FDA took. I just thought he ought to be aware of it.”
Prasad had replaced Dr. Peter Marks, who led the division for 13 years and was pivotal in the successful rollout of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to rapidly accelerate vaccine development in response to COVID-19.
While Makary announced Dr. George Tidmarsh would take over as acting director of the FDA’s biologics center, sources have expressed concern about who will now get role full-time.
“I worry now RFK will get hardcore anti-vaxxers in there,” one source told Politico.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
