Kyle Diamantas

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Kyle Diamantas
Official portrait, 2025
Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 15, 2026
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMarty Makary
Acting Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 24, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Commissioner
Marty Makary
Preceded byJim Jones
Personal details
BornKyle Allen Diamantas
(1987-11-25) November 25, 1987
Rockledge, Florida, U.S.
Education

Kyle Allen Diamantas (born November 25, 1987) is an American attorney who has served as the acting commissioner of food and drugs since 2026. He served as the acting deputy commissioner for human foods from 2025 to 2026.

Diamantas graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in political science in 2010 and from the University of Florida with a Juris Doctor in 2013. In 2024, he became a partner at Jones Day.

In February 2025, Diamantas was appointed as the acting deputy commissioner for human foods. He became the acting commissioner of food and drugs after Marty Makary's resignation in May 2026.

Early life and education (1987–2013)

Kyle Allen Diamantas was born on November 25, 1987, in Rockledge, Florida.[1] Diamantas attended Merritt Island High School, where he played baseball.[2] He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in pre-law political science in 2010 and from the University of Florida with a Juris Doctor in 2013.[3] Diamantas is a hunter and has been photographed hunting with Donald Trump Jr.[4]

Career

As early as 2014, Diamantas worked at Baker Donelson.[5] He represented Hemp Bombs in a lawsuit against its cannabidiol products and defended Whole Foods Market in a claim that it sold a cannabidiol product under false pretenses.[6] According to Politico, Diamantas represented Planned Parenthood, though he had moral objections and later requested he be removed from cases involving the organization.[5] In July 2021, he was named as a counsel for Jones Day;[7] in 2024, he became a partner at the firm.[4] In March 2024, Diamantas began representing Abbott Laboratories in a lawsuit that claimed the company knowingly sold harmful infant formula. Abbott later lost the lawsuit.[6] Diamantas also represented British American Tobacco.[6]

Acting deputy commissioner of human food (2025–2026)

In November 2024, Diamantas was a member of a post-market safety assessment group established by the Food and Drug Administration to review chemicals in food. By February 2025, he had become a special assistant in the office of the commissioner of food and drugs. That month, Bloomberg News reported that Diamantas had been appointed to succeed Jim Jones as the acting deputy commissioner for human foods.[8] He was publicly listed on the Food and Drug Administration's website on February 24.[6]

As the deputy commissioner for human foods, Diamantas oversaw the agency's process for creating the definition of ultra-processed food. He told The New York Times that the Food and Drug Administration would consider the use of synthetic dyes, emulsifiers, and preservatives in creating that definition.[9] Diamantas was additionally responsible for reviewing infant formula, an authority that caused a possible conflict of interest; the agency told the Times that he had agreed to recuse himself from matters involving Abbott Laboratories and British American Tobacco.[6] Diamantas sought to fulfill the priorities of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement.[10]

In February 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that Diamantas had been appointed to assist Chris Klomp in managing the Food and Drug Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services.[11] After he was appointed as the acting commissioner of food and drugs in May, Diamantas was succeeded by Donald Prater.[12]

Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs (2026–present)

On May 12, 2026, Marty Makary, the commissioner of food and drugs, resigned from his position over his refusal to authorize flavored vapes. Diamantas was named as the acting commissioner.[13] He is the first lawyer to serve commissioner of food and drugs and the second officeholder to have previously led the Human Foods Program.[14]

References

  1. "Births". Florida Today. December 5, 1987. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  2. Gardenour, Jeff (June 7, 2006). "South All-Stars triumph". Florida Today. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  3. Beach, Coral (February 21, 2025). "Miami attorney on tap to lead FDA foods program, including food safety efforts". Food Safety News. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  4. Eban, Katherine (February 24, 2025). "America's Food Safety Is Now in the Hands of Don Jr.'s Hunting Buddy". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  5. Ollstein, Alice; Lim, David (May 15, 2026). "Acting FDA leader tries to explain past Planned Parenthood work to abortion opponents". Politico. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  6. Jewett, Christina (March 4, 2025). "He Fought Claims of Harm From Infant Formula. Now He Regulates It". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  7. "Movers". Miami Herald. July 19, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  8. Cohrs Zhang, Rachel; Shanker, Deena; Edney, Anna (February 20, 2025). "Lawyer Kyle Diamantas Will Become Top Food Regulator at FDA". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  9. Blum, Dani (June 10, 2025). "What Makes a Food Ultraprocessed? The FDA Is About to Weigh In". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  10. Yarrow, Grace; Röhn, Tim (December 31, 2025). "Inside MAHA's 2026 food agenda". Politico. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  11. Whyte, Liz (February 13, 2026). "White House Pushes Shake-Up at HHS Ahead of Midterms". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  12. Brown, Marcia; Lim, David (May 14, 2026). "Longtime FDA official tapped to be acting director of the human foods program". Politico Pro. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  13. Lim, David; Gardner, Lauren (May 12, 2026). "Makary's time atop FDA over, Diamantas named acting commissioner". Politico. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  14. Witley, Skye (May 13, 2026). "Acting FDA Chief's Law, Food Background to Be Tested in New Role". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved May 15, 2026.