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BOSTON (AP) 鈥� The top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Administration has resigned and criticized the nation鈥檚 top health official for allowing 鈥渕isinformation and lies鈥� to guide his thinking behind the safety of vaccinations.

Dr. Peter Marks sent a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner on Friday saying that he would resign and retire by April 5 as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

In his letter, Marks said he was 鈥渨illing to work鈥� to address the concerns expressed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about the safety of vaccinations. But he concluded that wasn’t possible.

鈥淚t has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,鈥� he wrote.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.

Marks oversaw the agency鈥檚 rapid review and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments during the pandemic.

Marks is credited with coining the name and concept for 鈥淥peration Warp Speed,鈥� the effort under President Donald Trump to rapidly manufacture vaccines while they were still being tested for safety and efficacy. The initiative cut years off the normal development process.

Despite the project鈥檚 success, Trump repeatedly lashed out at the FDA for not approving the first COVID shots even sooner. Trump told confidants after his 2020 loss that he would have been re-elected if the vaccine had been available before Election Day.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized what he called the 鈥渇iring鈥� of Marks.

鈥淩FK Jr.鈥檚 firing of Peter Marks because he wouldn鈥檛 bend a knee to his misinformation campaign now allows the fox to guard the hen house,” Offit said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sad day for America鈥檚 children.鈥�

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the issues raised in Marks’ resignation letter 鈥渟hould be frightening to anyone committed to the importance of evidence to guide policies and patient decisions.鈥�

鈥淚 hope this will intensify the communication across academia, industry and government to bolster the importance of science and evidence,鈥� he wrote.

The resignation follows news Friday that HHS plans to lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country.

In a post on social media Thursday, Kennedy criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient 鈥渟prawling bureaucracy.” He also faulted the department鈥檚 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans鈥� health.

Last month, Jim Jones, the FDA鈥檚 deputy commissioner for foods, resigned, citing 鈥渢he indiscriminate firing鈥� of nearly 90 staffers in his division, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by the AP.

Marks, who could not be reached for comment, also raised concerns in his letter about 鈥渆fforts currently being advanced by some on the adverse health effects of vaccination are concerning鈥� as well as the 鈥渦nprecedented assault on scientific truth that has adversely impacted public health in our nation.鈥�

He went on to detail the historic benefits of vaccinations dating back to George Washington and pointed to the ongoing measles outbreak as proof of what can happen when doubts about science take hold.

鈥淭he ongoing multistate measles outbreak that is particularly severe in Texas reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined,鈥� he wrote.

The measles outbreak, which could go on for months, has now spread to Kansas and Ohio after sickening more than 370 in Texas and New Mexico.

If it hits other unvaccinated communities across the U.S., as may now be the case in Kansas, the outbreak could endure for a year and threaten the nation鈥檚 status as having eliminated the local spread of the vaccine-preventable disease, public health experts said.