FDA head falsely claims no scientists laid off, as agency shutters food safety labs

The head of the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly claimed in recent interviews that no scientists have been laid off at his agency, but one of the scientists in a food safety lab shuttered by the FDA's cuts says he is either "blatantly lying" or "out of touch."

"There were no layoffs to scientists or food inspectors," FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told CNN on Wednesday. Makary previously said in an April 17 interview with Megyn Kelly that there "were not cuts to scientists, or reviewers, or inspectors. Absolutely none."

"That just made me so mad, that he said no scientists were cut," said one laid-off FDA scientist, a chemist who had worked for the agency for years.