MedPage today story.
Thousands of employees at federal health agencies were laid off in the Trump administration's chaotic, slow purge over the holiday weekend.
While the total number of furloughed employees was lower than originally expected, the changes created confusion as some employees received layoff notices over the weekend while others waited for expected layoffs that never happened. This includes members of the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Servicea two-year fellowship program that trains the next generation of “disease detectives.”
One HHS agency official, who wished to remain anonymous, described “chaos and confusion” as management “tried to make sense of everything.”
Initial reports suggested that about 5,200 employees at HHS agencies — among about 80,000 employees — would be furloughed, but the totals were unclear Tuesday. The focus was on employees undergoing a “probationary period” or generally in their first year of employment.
MedPage today The layoffs at each agency are summarized below.
The medical and public health communities have criticized the move, which was initiated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE).
Eight recent former heads of federal health agencies under the Biden administration, including former NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli, MD; former CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure; former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD; and former CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH. signed the letter in support of laid-off employees.
“The Trump Administration has now begun to arbitrarily remove HHS employees from their positions, leaving no doubt that the health and well-being of families and communities across the country will suffer as a result,” the former leaders wrote in the letter.
“These people are not numbers on a spreadsheet,” the letter continues. “They are dedicated and passionate public servants who have dedicated their careers to serving the American people.”
“We are indebted to them, not indebted,” the letter said.
Jeff Nesbitt, former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at HHS, shared a thank you note signed by 140 former political appointees who worked alongside government employees at HHS during the Obama and Biden administrations, including former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“Please know that the time and energy you put into your work will not go unnoticed,” the letter said. “We appreciate all your efforts, especially your focus on helping those who are struggling. You embody the mission and vision of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Robert Stainbrook, MD, director of the public health research group Public Citizen, which has long been a thorn in the side of federal agencies, especially the FDA, called the contract terminations a “public health disaster.”
“There’s no benefit to it,” Stainbrook said. MedPage today. “From the outside it seems pointless.”
“Many organizations have to reduce staff from time to time for budgetary reasons, and there are ways to do it carefully and with the needs of the individual and the organization in mind, and there are ways not to do it,” Stainbrook said. “And that’s exactly the way you shouldn’t do it.”
Here's a look at the impact on individual agencies:
CDC
Reports initially said that about 1,300 probationary employees (about 10% of the CDC workforce) would be cut, but that number has now been reduced to about 750. in accordance with NPR.
Although employees of the agency's Epidemic Intelligence Service were initially told they would be laid off, as of Tuesday they still had not received emails informing them of their layoffs, multiple CDC sources said. MedPage today.
However, all CDC Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS) employees were laid off on Friday and Saturday, these sources said. LLS was created about ten years ago after a series of laboratory research failures. LLS fellows help CDC and state laboratories improve testing and meet federal standards. according to Associated Press
FDA
According to the agency, about 700 FDA employees were fired. Associated Press. This included staff from the centers that manage food, medical equipment and tobacco products.
Ross Segan, MD, MBA, head of medical device safety, was also fired. STAT reported. Sigan only started work in September, so he had to undergo a two-year probationary period at the agency.
A significant number of employees were laid off from the agency's devices division, which STAT noted that he has a strained relationship with Elon Musk’s company Neuralink.
Finally, Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy food commissioner, resigned after 89 people in his department lost their jobs. according to Washington Post.
“I looked forward to working to advance the Department's program to improve the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic diseases and the risks associated with chemicals in food,” Jones wrote in his resignation letter, according to the release. Mail. “It has become increasingly clear that because of the Trump administration’s disdain for the very people needed to implement your agenda, it would be futile for me to continue in this role.”
US National Institutes of Health
On Saturday, between 1,000 and 1,200 NIH employees were laid off. in accordance with NPR — a few hundred less than 1500 originally expected.
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Politician reported that employees working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) were furloughed, as well as employees at the CMS office that oversees the Affordable Care Act.
Ariel Kane, fired from CMMI, published on X that she and her fired colleagues “were working to improve maternal health outcomes at lower costs so that fewer pregnant women would die in this country. I thought this would fit well with your agenda?”
Other agencies
It is unknown how many people were fired from the HHS parent organization. Reports said the Office of Children and Families and the Office of Strategic Preparedness and Response had been cut.
Rene Wegrzyn, Ph.D., first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), created in 2022, announced on LinkedIn that she “is no longer [has] opportunity to act” as its director. It is unknown how many employees were fired from ARPA-H.
Additionally, while the Indian Health Service initially intended to lay off about 950 employees, recently confirmed HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. canceled these terminations.
And while this'This is not an HHS agency; many of the health care providers work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA released press release On February 13, it announced that it had laid off more than 1,000 employees, mostly on probation.
