FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, submitted his letter of resignation March 5, according to The Washington Post. He will leave the agency in about a month.
Dr. Gottlieb, who has been commuting weekly to Washington D.C. from Connecticut, said he's decided to step down so he can spend more time with his family. The 46-year-old physician, millionaire venture capitalist and cancer survivor has a wife and three daughters.
Dr. Gottlieb joined the agency in 2017 and quickly became known for cracking down on the e-cigarettes industry and trying to get a handle on the opioid crisis.
While Dr. Gottlieb had some policy disagreements with the White House, he is well-respected, and could be invited back to another post, unnamed officials cited by The Post said.
The move comes as a surprise to several FDA officials because Dr. Gottlieb recently hired new staff members and was aggressively pushing several new initiatives.
"All of us at HHS are proud of the remarkable work Commissioner Gottlieb has done at the FDA," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. "He has been an exemplary public health leader, aggressive advocate for American patients and passionate promoter of innovation. The public health of our country is better off for the work Scott and the entire FDA team have done over the last two years."