FDA firings spur deputy commissioner for human foods to quit

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The Trump administration firings of employees at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration caused FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones to resign on Monday.

The Trump administration' firing of 89 FDA employees is the reason he quit, Jones said in a resignation letter submitted to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Bloomberg reported.

"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," Jones said in his resignation letter.

He said the Trump administration holds "disdain" for the FDA employees who are needed for him to continue his work and called the mass firings "indiscriminate."

Jones became the head of the FDA's Human Foods division in 2023 and previously was employed for more than 30 years by the Environmental Protection Agency, NBC News reported.

He led the Biden administration's ban on red dye No. 3 in January. Jones also led the agency's investigation into lead poisoning in children from contaminated applesauce in 2023 and studied the effects of the recent infant formula shortage.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement to media on Tuesday said some Washington, D.C., bureaucrats don't support President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize the federal government to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

"There are a number of bureaucrats who are resistant to the democratic process and mandate delivered by the American people," Leavitt said.

"President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First Agenda [sic] on behalf of the American people," she added. "It's not for everyone, and that's OK."

The FDA regulates more than three-fourths of the nation's food supply, and Jones' departure might endanger that supply, a representative of Environmental Working Group told NBC News.

"There is no one on Earth who can replace the chemical safety expertise that Jim brought to this job," said Scott Faber, EWG senior vice president of government affairs.