What to know about Kyle Diamantas, the new acting FDA commissioner | Trump administration

The new acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whom Donald Trump described as a “very talented person,” is a former corporate lawyer who once defended a popular infant formula maker against allegations that its product harmed premature babies.

Kyle Diamantas, who most recently served as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods, will take over as Acting FDA Commissioner.

In her previous role, Diamantas oversaw the FDA’s nutrition and food safety protocols. He also “set the strategic direction and operations of food policy in the United States” while serving as liaison between the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, according to the FDA website. Diamantas also represented the agency in food-related relationships with foreign governments and international organizations.

Diamantas’ ascension to head the agency comes after the resignation of his predecessor Marty Makary on Tuesday. Makary’s 13-month tenure at the regulatory agency was marked by tumult and frustration on both sides. He clashed with lawmakers on Capitol Hill over drug regulatory decisions and a review of the abortion drug mifepristone, which conservative members of Congress accused him of walking slowly.

Trump signed a plan to fire Makary earlier this month, after the president chastised the FDA chief for not approving fruit-flavored vapes, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Diamantas will not return to this role permanently at this time. On Tuesday afternoon, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US Secretary of Health, said that “the search for a new [FDA] “The commissioner is already on his way and we will move forward with urgency.” In the same message, Kennedy thanked Diamantas for his leadership, which he said has “already brought remarkable victories on the MAHA food agenda.”

Within the agency, Diamantas is generally considered a noncontroversial choice to lead temporarily, according to a Washington Post report. Two former officials told the outlet that Diamantas managed to avoid controversy by maintaining top management at the Human Foods Program (HFP), compared to other centers that experienced high staff turnover.

Diamantas, 38, left Miami law firm Jones Day to join the FDA in February 2025. At the firm, where he was a partner, he defended Abbott Laboratories in a lawsuit accusing the company of failing to inform parents that its premature infant formula increased the risk of fatal gastrointestinal illness. The New York Times was the first to report Diamantas’ involvement in the affair.

In 2024, Abbott lost the case and was forced to pay $495 million. A Missouri appeals court upheld the decision in May 2026, after an appeal from the manufacturer.

Diamantas is also said to be a close friend of Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son. A 2021 article on X by Mike Tussey, founder of the Osceola Outdoors hunting club, includes a photo of the two men with the caption: “Don Jr. With good friend Kyle Diamantas! Kyle’s first Osceola!” In the photo, each man holds up his own dead bird.

Like many of his colleagues, Diamantas has frequented the Maha podcast circuit over the past year, spending time with Paul Saladino, a health influencer who has touted the benefits of a carnivore diet, as well as “biohacker” and longevity expert Gary Brecka.

Diamantas, who holds a juris doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, has no professional medical experience. He replaced former Deputy Food Commissioner Jim Jones, who resigned from the FDA in February 2025 due to the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal employees. Before joining Jones Day, he worked as a senior associate in the Orlando office of the law firm Baker Donelson.

In his now-archived Jones Day biography, reported by Vanity Fair, he is described as having “more than 10 years of experience advising food, cosmetics, dietary supplement, pharmaceutical and other life sciences and consumer goods clients on a wide range of regulatory, compliance and enforcement issues.”

One of the key responsibilities of Diamantas’ role at the FDA was updating dietary guidelines for Americans, which included inverting the traditional food pyramid, placing meats and vegetables at the widest point at the top. Consistent with the Maha program, the updated guidelines “may help prevent the onset or slow the rate of progression of chronic diseases,” according to administration officials.

In a December 2025 interview with Politico, Diamantas said his biggest achievement during the first year of the second Trump administration was removing petroleum-based artificial colors from food products.

Asked about the administration’s fight against ultra-processed foods, Diamantas said: “We’re not looking to ban people from eating ultra-processed foods. If you want to go eat a box of Ding Dongs after this, you can do that. This is America. What we’re saying is people should understand what these products are and consumers should make choices.”

In the same interview, Diamantas acknowledged his previous work as an Abbott representative, saying he followed a one-year recusal from the infant formula cases after his appointment in 2025. However, he said he planned to “dive back into infant formula” in the new year and would work to “ensure the safety of formula, not only from chemical additives, but also from problems microbiological,” citing a recent outbreak of infant botulism.

Secretary Kennedy appointed Diamantas in February 2026 to serve as senior advisor to the FDA, which he held in addition to his role as deputy commissioner of food.