Top FDA Inspection Official to Retire Amid Staff Frustration

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top inspection official, Michael Rogers, will retire May 14

• His departure comes as staffers raise concerns about inspection changes

• Current and former staff say the moves could make inspections less effective

WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The official in charge of federal food and drug safety inspections will retire May 14.

Michael Rogers, associate commissioner for inspections and investigations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced his decision Monday in an email to colleagues. 

"I have decided to retire. It was my decision, but it was time after 34 years," Rogers told CBS News in an email.

His departure comes at a time of many concerns within the agency. Some staff members say they are frustrated with the direction of inspections under new FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary.

Rogers led inspection efforts during the 2022 infant formula crisis, when the FDA was criticized for its slow response to problems at an infant formula plant linked to a deadly recall. He also led a reorganization of the inspections office last year, CBS News reported.

Two FDA officials told CBS News that Rogers had recently shared with coworkers that he was unhappy at work. Their comments were made anonymously. 

They said that recent staffing cuts ordered by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have already made it harder for the inspections team to keep up with demands.

At the same time, Makary has promised to expand surprise foreign inspections. On Monday, he said at a White House event that the FDA would also shorten the length of foreign trips.

"We're also not going to have our inspectors hanging out for three or four weeks," Makary said. "They're going to get in and out, and we're going to do more inspections with the same resources as a result."

But some current and former FDA staff warned these changes could make inspections less effective. In the past, longer trips were seen as a way to group several inspections into one trip, saving money and reducing the strain of traveling.

"So they're going to double or triple the foreign inspection flight costs and keep my people in a perpetual state of jet lag," one FDA official said to CBS News.

Other staff predicted that shorter trips could lead to reduced oversight. 

What's more, the FDA has long struggled to reduce a backlog of inspections, especially overseas.

"It's fairly basic math. We know how long inspectional activities take. If they get shorter, which inspections activities are we no longer performing," another FDA official said.

More information

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy group, is tracking ongoing federal budget cuts.

SOURCE: CBS News, May 5, 2025

What This Means For You

Changes in federal inspections could impact food and drug safety.