Head of FDA Food Division Resigns in Protest of Mass Firings at HHS – White House Responds

Jim Jones, head of the FDA’s food division resigned in protest of the Trump Administration’s mass firings.

Jones reportedly resigned on Monday after the Trump Administration fired thousands of employees in the HHS.

“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, according to Bloomberg News.

Jones said that because of the mass firings it would be “fruitless for me to continue in this role.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Jim Jones’ resignation.

“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,” Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, according to NBC News. “It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.”

More from NBC News:

Jim Jones, head of the food division at the Food and Drug Administration, has resigned, according to a source familiar with the matter. The division is tasked with ensuring that the country’s food supply is safe, overseeing inspections and recalls.

Jones’ resignation comes after the Trump administration last week cut thousands of federal workers, including some who worked at the FDA. The source didn’t provide a reason for Jones’ resignation.

It’s unclear whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was sworn in Thursday, has an immediate replacement for Jones. Kennedy met with HHS staff Tuesday morning as part of a welcome ceremony, according to a second source.

Jones stepped in to lead the FDA’s food division in 2023, after three decades at the Environmental Protection Agency.