Jim Jones Resigns from FDA, Citing ‘Indiscriminate’ Layoffs

Jim Jones, deputy commissioner for human foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), resigned from his position Feb. 17, citing the Trump administration’s layoffs of 89 staffers in the agency’s food division.

News of Jones' resignation broke yesterday evening, when Food Fix reported his departure following thousands of firings across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the CDC and FDA.

According to Bloomberg, Jones sent a resignation letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, stating, “I was looking forward to working to pursue the department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food.”

He said that given the Trump administration’s “disdain for the very people” needed to make these changes, it would be “fruitless for me to continue in this role.”

He described the cuts to FDA staff as “indiscriminate.”

Staffers laid off over the weekend include employees with “highly technical expertise in nutrition, infant formula, food safety response,” according to the letter, including 10 staffers that review potentially unsafe ingredients in food.

Jones, the agency’s first deputy commissioner for human foods, started his role in September 2023. The executive position was created to lead the charge in setting and advancing priorities for a unified Human Foods Program, with a focus on food safety, chemical safety, innovative food products and nutrition.

Read QA’s 2024 Q&A with Jones here.