Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies, sources say

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Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies, sources say

4:48 CAT | 01 Apr 2025

Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) queue outside the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building, after it was reported that the Trump administration fired staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the Food and Drug Administration, as it embarked on its plan to cut 10,000 jobs at HHS, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 1, 2025. [Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque]

The Trump administration has begun firing staff at major U.S. health agencies including the CDC and FDA as part of its plan to cut 10,000 government health jobs, sources familiar with the situation and a health official said on Tuesday.

The cuts, which also affect the National Institutes of Health, are part of a broad plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink staffing levels in federal departments and agencies.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described the cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration as essential to streamlining a bloated bureaucracy. However the cuts – including earlier dismissals – have led to the departures of top scientists at key agencies for public health, cancer research and drug oversight, raising concerns about how the U.S. will safely oversee the health sector and respond to emergencies.

Peter Stein, the director of the Office of New Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research division, resigned on Tuesday when faced with being fired, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Brian King, the head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products division, was fired, according to an email sent by King to FDA staff seen by Reuters.

King and Stein’s exits adds to top leadership departures across the FDA’s divisions including drugs, food, vaccines, medical devices and tobacco products. Staff have also been leaving and some employees reviewing products say they are struggling to meet their deadlines.

An FDA employee said staff had to present their badges at the building entrance and those who had been fired were given a ticket and told to return home, according to one source.

The ticket, seen by Reuters, listed phone numbers for 10 different departments for employees to call to retrieve their “essential” equipment.

Other fired staff received emails Tuesday morning that said their terminations did not reflect on their service, performance or conduct, according to an email seen by Reuters.

A line of cars clogged the two main roads leading into the National Institutes of Health’s main campus in Bethesda, Maryland, where employees had been notified early this morning that they were laid off, according to a source.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, staff who were fired worked at the National Center for Environmental Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to another source.

The cuts at NCIRD included at least one person working on the federal response to measles outbreaks, the source said.

A health official said employees who worked directly for Health and Human Services were also fired. Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately available for comment.

Source: Reuters