FDA Food Division Head Jim Jones Resigns After Mass Layoffs Within the Agency

“I’m not sure if it’s a lack of understanding of how things get done, or it’s that there’s really no seriousness about what they want to get done,” he told Stat. “I don’t know. But I didn’t want to spend the next six months of my career on activities that are fundamentally about dismantling an organization, as opposed to working on the stated agenda.”

Jim Jones, head of the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) food division, reportedly resigned on Monday, citing widespread layoffs that he believes will hinder regulatory progress. Jones, who led the recent ban on the Red No. 3 dye, called the cuts "indiscriminate," noting that 89 staffers, including experts in food safety and nutrition, were dismissed, Bloomberg reported.

In response to Jones’ resignation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Bloomberg News in an email that some “bureaucrats” remained resistant to the “mandate delivered by the American people.” “President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First Agenda on behalf of the American people,” she noted. “It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.”

The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has resigned in protest over the mass firings at the Department of Health and Human Services. Jim Jones cited the 89 "indiscriminate" layoffs within the Human Foods Program as the primary reason for his resignation. Those laid off included nutrition, infant formula, and food safety response employees.

Jim Jones, the head of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food division, resigned Monday. Jones said the “indiscriminate firing” of 89 staff members in his division would undermine the agenda championed by newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.