Interest of Justice filed Eshleman v. Hegseth — and now the press reported one of the named federal officers is being fired

Filed pro se from Costa Rica under 50 USC 1520a(d). The case names Hegseth, Kennedy, and the FDA. The press says one of them won't be in the chair when the docket calls his name.

May 10, 2026

On May 8, Bloomberg, STAT, CNN, and Washington Post reported Trump signed off on firing FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. Trump told reporters he “knows nothing.” Interest of Justice has filed Eshleman v. Hegseth, et al. — pro se, by IoJ cofounder Xylie Eshleman, alongside IoJ as co-petitioner. The case names Defense Secretary Hegseth (lead respondent under 50 USC § 1520a(d)), HHS Secretary Kennedy, and the FDA Commissioner. Under FRCP 25(d) the case proceeds regardless of who holds the seat. Founding 100 launches next Sunday — that is the moment that decides whether we get to bring counsel in before the 60-day government response window opens.

Two days ago — May 8, 2026 — Bloomberg, STAT, CNN, and the Washington Post all reported that President Trump signed off on a plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. When asked, Trump told reporters — “I’ve been reading about it, but I know nothing about it.” Administration officials confirming the firing on background say otherwise.

Interest of Justice has filed Eshleman v. Hegseth, et al. The case is filed pro se by IoJ cofounder Xylie Eshleman. The case names three federal officers in their official capacities — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as lead respondent, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the FDA Commissioner. The FDA Commissioner today is Makary. Tomorrow, that may change.

Why is the Secretary of Defense the LEAD respondent? Because the lead claim is under 50 U.S.C. § 1520a(d). That statute restricts human subject testing of chemical and biological agents and requires the Secretary of Defense to file a Congressional report 30 days before any such test. The records produced under FOIA establish that no such report was filed in advance of the COVID-19 medical countermeasure deployment, which was procured by the DoD as a defense countermeasure under Operation Warp Speed, not as standard pharmaceuticals through HHS.

That is the lead cause of action. The FDA leg — that the agency failed to respond to Citizen Petition FDA-2025-P-1807 within the 180-day statutory window under 21 C.F.R. § 10.30(e)(2) — is the secondary claim. Hegseth is the lead defendant because the DoD reporting obligation is the primary statutory failure.

The mandamus is filed. We are waiting on the clerk to issue the stamped summons. After service under FRCP 4(i), the government has 60 days to respond.

“The federal government was the greatest perpetrator of misinformation.” — Marty Makary, on the public record before his confirmation as FDA Commissioner

That sentence is not speculation. It is on the record. It is what the sitting FDA Commissioner has said, in public, about the agency he then went to lead.

Whatever you think of his tenure — and there are people on every side who have plenty to say about it — that statement remains true regardless of who holds the seat.

Whether the FDA Commissioner over the next sixty days is Makary, or Kyle Diamantas, or Stephen Hahn, or Brett Giroir, the duties of the office under 21 CFR 10.30 do not change. The 180-day window does not extend or contract because the officer at the desk changed.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), when an officer sued in their official capacity leaves the position, the successor is automatically substituted as a party. The case caption updates. The petition does not. The duty travels with the office.

This is the structural promise of the rule of law — that statutory duties belong to offices, not to people.

THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB OF JUSTICE.

You asked the question. We will answer it the way the law answers it. The right people for the job of justice are the people whose job it is to follow the statutes that bind their office, regardless of who appointed them or what political pressure attaches to the role.

The FDA Commissioner’s job is to follow 21 CFR 10.30.
The HHS Secretary’s job is to administer the Public Health Service Act.
The Secretary of Defense’s job is to comply with 50 USC § 1520a. The duties are the duties.

Whether the office is held with integrity or is held in chaos is a political question. The duty under the statute is a legal question. The mandamus addresses the legal question. The political question — whether Trump fires Makary, whether the next person at the FDA is more or less responsive to citizen petitions, whether the chaos at the agency continues or settles — is downstream of the legal question.

Makary’s prior public statement that the federal government was the greatest perpetrator of misinformation is part of why a lot of people had hope when he was confirmed. That statement is on the public record permanently. Whatever the next 60 days bring, that record stays.

What we are doing — what you can help with — is making sure the legal question gets answered on the record. The case is the demonstration. The duty travels with the office. The office has to answer.

PRO SE MEANS BY YOURSELF. THAT IS WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW.

Pro se filings get read under a different posture than counseled ones. Every motion takes longer. Every procedural step gets harder scrutiny. Pro se cases get dismissed on technicalities that counseled cases survive.

If you want this case to have an attorney behind it before the government’s 60-day response window opens — that is what funds buy. Founding 100 launches next Sunday. 100 seats. $250 each. The first $25,000 covers service of process, the next round of FOIA filings, and the retainer to bring counsel in once the response clock starts. Above 100 seats, the regular paid tier ($80/year) keeps the runway going.

We are not at the attorney number yet, hence why we filed pro se. Be the PERSISTENCE! Do it by any means possible.

Pro se can win. Pro se with counsel behind it wins faster & backs the case with counsel.

Read the lawsuit - download below. Mark the date the FDA’s 180-day window closed — December 14, 2025. The mandamus is the remedy for that closed window.