One year after significant cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (DOGE) reshaped the federal government, STAT reporter Lizzy Lawrence has been gathering firsthand accounts from former FDA officials about their experiences at the agency.
Two weeks ago, Lawrence and I embarked on a cross-country journey to interview six former officials. We sought to uncover what initially drew them to the FDA, the critical work they accomplished during their tenures, and, ultimately, the reasons behind their departures during the second Trump administration.
In a special edition of STATus Report, Lawrence and I traveled through the Washington, D.C. suburbs to present these first-person testimonies. Among those interviewed were:
- Richard Pazdur, former director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research;
- Sheryl Lard-Whiteford, a leader in the FDA’s biologics center;
- Julie Tierney, who played a key role in Operation Warp Speed.
The interviews provide a rare glimpse into the internal dynamics and external pressures that influenced these officials’ decisions to leave the agency.
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