Why we left the FDA: Six former officials share their stories ‘I didn’t leave the FDA. The FDA left me’ By Alex HoganMay 8, 2026 Senior Multimedia Producer

Why we left the FDA: Six former officials share stories From STAT’s Alex Hogan: A year after U.S. DOGE Service cuts shook up the federal government, STAT FDA reporter Lizzy Lawrence has been speaking with former officials about their time at the agency. Two weeks ago, I hit the road with Lizzy to interview six of them about what drew them to the agency, the important work they did during their career there, and, ultimately, why they decided to leave during the second Trump administration. https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/07/fda-rebuilding-after-doge-former-regulators-speaking-out/?utm_campaign=the_readout&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8hcQ_mEx7b0EoG60rUWuWZxcLSRyguMzn6CFF7JewPWdk8cUOHiQoxXjIf7xNJzOoKJDhbrvk6h37Uz-CwG82rZ-YufA&_hsmi=417864713&utm_content=417864713&utm_source=hs_email In a special road-trip addition of STATus Report, Lizzy and I travel around the leafy suburbs of Washington to bring you first-person testimonies, including from the former director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Richard Pazdur; Sheryl Lard-Whiteford, a leader in the FDA’s biologics center; and Julie Tierney, who worked on Operation Warp Speed. https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/08/former-fda-regulators-on-why-they-left-status-report/?utm_campaign=the_readout&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_E4vXm8rEvvh7tIx4jLYRxHbuYOVmpotyT6z2DMn7Y1f727DWN7m8seOG6R_RNbl4GZ-vNEUmaQ-DxLiOqgZBzkK6H6Q&_hsmi=417864713&utm_content=417864713&utm_source=hs_email