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.
Given the new administration's "disdain for the very people" needed to make these changes, it would be "fruitless for me to continue in this role," he wrote in his resignation letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner.
When Bloomberg reached out to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt for a reaction she emailed that some "bureaucrats" are resistant to the "mandate delivered by the American people."
Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group told Bloomberg Jones's exit will "set back efforts to make food safer."
Many federal employees have resigned amidst mass layoffs initiated by President Donald Trump's administration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the FDA, has made it clear that he planned layoffs.
Kennedy, Jr. told an MSNBC reporter in November that he wants to clear out "entire departments" in the FDA.
Kennedy, Jr. said he'd target the "nutrition department" as the leader of the FDA's 18 federal agencies.
