Food head at FDA quits citing Trump administration’s mass staff cuts

Jim Jones, who joined Food and Drug Administration in 2023, says layoffs would make it fruitless' to continue in role

The head of the food division at the US Food and Drug Administration has quit in protest over sweeping staff cuts that he warns will hamper the agency's ability to protect public health.

Jim Jones, who joined the agency in September 2023, cited indiscriminate" layoffs to 89 staff members, including key technical experts. In his resignation letter to the acting FDA commissioner, Sara Brenner, seen by Bloomberg News, Jones said the cuts would make it fruitless" to continue in his role given the Trump administration's disdain for the very people" needed to implement food safety reforms.