After FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary left his position this week — reportedly after losing the fight against President Donald Trump to allow fruit-flavored vapes to hit the market — Rolling Stone reported that the President tapped a friend of his son, Donald Trump, Jr., to lead the agency.
The magazine titled the article: ‘Trump Taps Don Jr.’s 38-Year-Old Turkey-Hunting Pal to Lead FDA,’ with the subhead: “Kyle Diamantas is a lawyer, not a doctor, who will oversee products making up a quarter of the U.S. economy.”
Trump Taps Don Jr.’s 38-Year-Old Turkey-Hunting Pal to Lead FDA
Kyle Diamantas is a lawyer, not a doctor, who will oversee products making up a quarter of the U.S. economy. https://t.co/02ggoJ1Gux
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 13, 2026
[NOTE: Diamantas currently serves as U.S. Deputy Commissioner for Food at the FDA and Senior Counselor at the Department of Health & Human Services, which is led by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is also a lawyer, not a doctor.]
Prior to joining the Trump administration, Diamantas was a partner at the corporate law firm Jones Day (at its Miami office), where he defended Abbott Nutrition, the manufacturer of infant formula linked to the deadly 2022 outbreak of cronobacter infections. At the FDA, Diamantas oversees the infant formula industry.
When Diamantas joined the FDA in 2025, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who has worked on infant formula issues, said: “Appointing an Abbott lawyer to oversee food safety, which includes infant formula, is letting the fox guard the henhouse.”