A lawyer is leading the FDA for the first time, after President
The promotion of Diamantas to acting FDA commissioner also marks the second time in history someone leading the agency’s food oversight has been put in charge, a move that comes as the Trump administration advances a range of food policy changes aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Food and Drug Administration chiefs, acting or Senate confirmed, typically hail from a scientific or medical background, as the agency spends most of its annual budget regulating pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Diamantas joined the agency in February 2025 to oversee its Human Foods Program—which regulates roughly 80% of the food supply—after time as a partner at Jones Day, where his work included representing leading infant formula manufacturer
“I think the legal training will be very important because there’s a respect for process,” said former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, who has a law degree from the University of Chicago but never practiced as an attorney. Kessler credited his legal background with informing the FDA’s push to regulate tobacco during his tenure under the Bush and Clinton administrations in the 1990s.
“There’s been a major brain drain of the agency, which will take a long time to replace, and I think Kyle Diamantas will be a stabilizing force,” Kessler added.
Leadership Qualities
Former FDA officials, regulatory attorneys, and consumer advocates characterize Diamantas as a deliberate leader who’s handled the agency’s food mission capably—though some raise concern his lack of medical credentials could be a barrier to handling new topics such as tobacco or pharmaceutical oversight.
“He brings a very measured and thoughtful approach to the agency,” said Brian Sylvester, head of Morrison and Foerster’s food regulatory work.
Administration officials also have praised Diamantas for advancing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA food agenda, which aims to reduce chronic disease rates.
“Kyle, the head of the Human Foods Program, has really been I think the tip of the spear in trying to look beyond the drug and the medical products space in how we address chronic disease drivers,” Grace Graham, FDA’s deputy policy commissioner, said May 6 at a conference hosted by the Food and Drug Law Institute.
Kennedy in February appointed Diamantas as senior counselor to his office for the FDA.
During Diamantas’ tenure, the FDA has developed a forthcoming proposed rule to make food manufacturers disclose the chemical additives they’re using, convinced large companies to remove petroleum-based dyes from foods, and investigated infant formula for heavy metal and chemical contamination. Food-related issues under the Trump administration’s spotlight have received more public support than vaccine rollbacks that drove high staff turnover under Makary.
“The polling that they have done indicates that voters have been receptive to some of the policy work done in the foods program—that certainly could have been a factor in his selection,” said Susan Mayne, who led the FDA’s food safety work across three administrations including Trump’s first term in the White House.
And despite the agency’s loss of roughly 3,500 employees since the Trump administration greenlit broad reductions-in-force, “he has not seen the kinds of departures in leadership in the foods program that they’ve seen on the other side of the FDA,” Mayne said.
Hurdles Ahead
In his new role, Diamantas is tasked with tackling a range of hotly debated issues included vaping, rare disease drugs, and access to abortion medication, as the agency attempts to rehire thousands of scientists.
He may have already had exposure to some cross-cutting medical matters including opioid regulation, gene editing, and infectious outbreaks from his perch atop the Human Foods Program, Mayne said. But temporary agency leaders need to lean on a team of subject-matter experts, said Steve Ostroff, who twice served as acting FDA commissioner after serving as deputy commissioner for foods.
Of the five FDA centers that regulate key product sectors, three are currently led by acting directors.
“I’d be surprised if the supporting cast has the same institutional knowledge,” as when Ostroff served, he said.
Medical issues consumed the majority of his time as acting commissioner, Ostroff said, but he retained time for food priorities given his agency experience.
“Kyle Diamantas now has a nearly impossible charge — leading, as a non-scientist, a science-based agency under an unqualified Secretary who puts his own medical and nutritional pet peeves over evidence-based public health,” Peter Lurie, president of Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement Tuesday.
Diamantas could serve as the agency’s steward for a while until Trump’s next pick makes it through the Senate confirmation process: several acting commissioners have helmed the FDA for more than a year.
Neither the White House nor the FDA responded to a request for comment about how quickly Trump will nominate a new candidate or who’s replacing Diamantas atop the Human Foods Program.
In the interim, groups with experience engaging Diamantas on food issues hope he’ll maintain his reputation for being accessible and receptive to stakeholder input.
“He has been very willing to engage, willing to meet, willing to hear from all stakeholders, and I think that has been well received,” said Jessica O’Connell, co-chair of Covington & Burling’s food, drug, and device practice.
Scott Faber, the Environmental Working Group’s senior vice president for government affairs, said in a texted statement that Diamantas has engaged with consumer advocacy groups and set the agency up to improve food safety oversight if the agency gets more funding and recovers from a year of staff attrition.
“I hope he gets the power to actually make food safety matter, but power without resources will be a recipe for failure,” Faber said.