Chaos erupted across Department of Health and Human Services facilities Tuesday as the Trump administration began implementing widespread layoffs, with many employees discovering their termination only upon arriving at work to find their badges deactivated.
The sweeping job cuts, part of a massive restructuring initiative under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., commenced with early morning emails placing affected workers on immediate administrative leave. The notices cited a “reduction in force” action necessary for “reshaping the workforce of HHS,” while noting the terminations were not reflective of employee performance.
The cuts span multiple agencies including the FDA, CDC, CMS, NIH, Administration for Children and Families, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Combined with previous departures, the elimination of approximately 10,000 positions will reduce HHS staffing by roughly 25%.
At the FDA, the impact reached into core drug and medical device review offices. Peter Stein, who headed the Office of New Drugs, announced his departure after declining an alternative position in patient affairs. Former FDA commissioners Robert Califf and Scott Gottlieb expressed grave concerns, with Califf stating on LinkedIn that “the FDA as we’ve known it is finished” and warning of diminished product safety oversight.
Scenes of confusion played out at HHS buildings in Washington D.C., where employees lined up around blocks waiting to learn their employment status through badge access attempts. At the FDA’s Silver Spring campus, security staff were caught off-guard by the
terminations, creating lengthy entrance queues as managers attempted to verify staff status.
The cuts hit particularly hard at certain agencies. The CDC saw senior leadership affected across multiple divisions, including injury and violence prevention offices. At NIH, communications and policy departments faced reductions, along with staff focused on health diversity initiatives. CMS minority health workers were also targeted for elimination.
Last Thursday, Kennedy had outlined plans calling for 3,500 FDA job cuts, 2,400 at CDC, 1,200 at NIH, and about 300 at CMS. However, the final numbers remain unclear amid reported tension within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost-cutting team led by Elon Musk implementing the downsizing.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Patty Murray and Tammy Baldwin, along with Representative Rosa DeLauro, have demanded greater transparency around the restructuring. In a letter to Kennedy, they criticized the administration’s failure to explain how such dramatic workforce reductions would benefit public health.
For remaining employees, uncertainty and low morale prevail. “I can hear people crying while packing their things,” said one unaffected CDC worker in Georgia, expressing survivor’s guilt. Others worry about potential additional cuts, with one FDA staffer noting: “Are more emails coming out tomorrow? This afternoon? We don’t know.”
Some terminated employees faced particular difficulties, unable to access buildings to retrieve personal belongings or download files from work laptops. A former ACF employee reported colleagues had received no guidance on when they could collect their possessions.
The restructuring has drawn criticism from health policy experts and former agency leaders who warn the dramatic staff reductions could severely impact critical public health functions, drug approvals, and safety monitoring capabilities.
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