FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said Tuesday he’s “disappointed” in the presidential election results and acknowledged the uncertainty President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House raises for the agency workforce.

“We just don’t know what’s going to happen now,” he said during the Friends of Cancer Research annual meeting. ”It’s not correct of me to make any specific comments about exactly what will happen. But I do think it’s pretty clear that the gist of this administration, from everything that’s been said, is to change a lot of things, and how it gets changed depends on who gets appointed into key positions and how the various policies play out.”

Califf’s remarks come as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his camp float unconventional candidates to staff and lead health agencies — some of whom criticized or undermined vaccine and masking recommendations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Asked to respond to Kennedy’s statements about cleaning house at FDA offices focused on nutrition and other issues, Califf suggested the agency is limited in what it can do to address issues with the American diet because of Congress.

“I don’t think you have to be too smart to say we have a chronic disease crisis going on in this country that starts in childhood with terrible diets that are not getting better, and there is work that needs to be done,” he said. “They are really hard working people, and they’re limited in what they can change by the laws that Congress passes.”

When asked if he expects to see a “mass exodus” from the agency amid the transition, Califf said he thinks FDA employees are “waiting to see” who gets appointed to lead the FDA — and that support from the drug industry for regulators’ work will be crucial.

Califf said his successor’s “ability to function as an executive” — listening to different viewpoints before making major decisions — will be an important trait to possess. He then praised Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who was Trump’s first FDA commissioner.

“You just could not have found a better person for the role at that time,” Califf said.

Califf said he hopes the next commissioner will appreciate “the really critical role of high-quality evidence in everything that we do.” He acknowledged an ongoing societal questioning of the “role of experts,” and that experts aren’t always right.

“But not having experts, I think, historically, in every society has been a case for demise of that society,” he said.

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