Massive Layoffs Hit Top US Health Agency Amid Sweeping Restructuring
Hundreds of federal health workers were informed of job cuts early Tuesday, with many turned away at office doors, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began a major overhaul.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began implementing a significant restructuring plan on Tuesday, resulting in widespread layoffs across its agencies, including several top officials. The move comes after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans last week to reduce the department’s workforce from 80,000 to 60,000 employees—10,000 through layoffs and the rest through voluntary departures.
Among those affected are key personnel at federal agencies tasked with protecting public health, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The White House confirmed plans to eliminate 3,500 positions at the FDA, 2,400 at the CDC, and 1,200 at the NIH. The restructuring is part of a broader initiative led by President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce.
Layoffs began before dawn on Tuesday. Preston Burt, a 10-year veteran of the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, was among those notified by email that he and his entire division had been let go. The division worked with 33 states to monitor environmental health hazards and recently took part in a national emergency drill for a nuclear incident.
“Now if there’s a nuclear disaster, who are they going to call on as experts?” Burt asked.
Many employees arrived at work only to find their building access revoked, leading to confusion and long lines outside offices.
The restructuring also saw the dismissal of senior officials, including Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—an agency that played a central role in the COVID-19 response. Marrazzo and other directors were offered reassignment to the Indian Health Service and were given until Wednesday to accept or decline the relocation.
According to Reuters, staff involved in the federal response to avian flu outbreaks were also let go. The timing is particularly critical, as the nation faces rising bird flu cases and the worst measles outbreak in a decade.
HHS, which has a $1.8 trillion annual budget and oversees 13 major agencies, is consolidating 28 divisions into 15 under the new “Administration for a Healthy America,” part of Kennedy’s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. Kennedy called the department “inefficient” and said the cuts would reduce "bureaucratic sprawl" and save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually.
However, the changes have sparked backlash from both state governments and members of Congress. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the administration for cutting $11 billion in public health funding, much of it originally allocated for COVID-19 response and later redirected to mental health and infectious disease programs.
Critics warn the cuts threaten the country’s ability to respond to health crises. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the restructuring would “directly harm our most vulnerable communities and make America sicker.”
Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, have called on Secretary Kennedy to testify about the overhaul at a hearing scheduled for April 10.
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