Topline
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began laying off thousands of workers at the agency Tuesday—including leaders of divisions tasked with regulating food and drugs, studying chronic diseases and the risks of environmental disasters, and those targeting H.I.V. prevention—part of a sweeping restructuring as Kennedy has long cast doubts on the legitimacy of widely accepted public health research and recommendations.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arriving at the official residence of the … More
PA Images via Getty ImagesKey Facts
Kennedy began sending “reduction in force” notices to employees late Monday into early Tuesday, according to multiple reports, with some of the cuts impacting multiple senior leaders and entire departments.
Kennedy announced Thursday he would cut 10,000 jobs at the agency, including 18% of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15% of FDA employees, 6% of National Institutes of Health workers and 4% of employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Several top officials at the National Institutes of Health were asked to move to remote locations or placed on administrative leave—Jeanne Marrazzo, who succeeded Anthony Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other senior leaders were offered reassignments to locations including Alaska, Montana and Oklahoma and asked to respond by Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET, the Washington Post reported.
Director of the CDC’s Center for H.I.V. and sexually transmitted diseases, Jonathan Mermin, was placed on administrative leave, researchers working on preventing H.I.V. transmission between mother and child were cut entirely, The New York Times reported.
FDA Office of New Drugs Director Peter Stein and the division’s policy office were cut, FDA Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King was placed on administrative leave, and the FDA’s Office of Strategic Programs, including its director, Sridhar Mantha, was cut entirely, Politico reported.
Multiple other CDC divisions were affected by the layoffs, including the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention; the National Center for Environmental Health; the Global Health Center; and National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, according to Politico, citing two unnamed CDC employees who requested anonymity for fear of retribution.
Chief Critic
“The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed,” Robert Califf, former FDA commissioner under Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, wrote on LinkedIn on Tuesday morning.
What To Watch For
About 873 employees at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, two-thirds of its staff, are expected to be laid off by June 30, CBS News reported Tuesday, citing a letter to union officials. The agency’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, which vets personal protective medical equipment, such as N95 masks, is among the divisions where staff will be cut entirely, according to CBS. NIOSH, which is currently part of the CDC, will be folded into a new Administration for a Healthy America, along with other divisions, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as part of Kennedy’s broad restructuring.
Tangent
The FDA’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, was pushed out of the agency last week, citing in his resignation letter “misinformation and lies” he said Kennedy has spread about vaccines. Marks said in the letter he would resign as the agency’s director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research effective April 5, multiple outlets reported. Marks joined the FDA in 2012 and played a role in speeding up distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine during the first Trump administration.
Key Background
Kennedy announced the 10,000 job cuts last week, on top of the 10,000 employees who already accepted a layoff package, as he aims to reduce the size of the agency from 82,000 to 62,000 employees—part of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to drastically shrink the federal workforce. The agency will close five of its 10 regional offices and reduce the number of divisions from 28 to 15 in what it said is an effort to “streamline the functions of the department” and eliminate “many redundant units.” Two divisions—NIOSH and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry—currently housed under the CDC will be transferred to the new Administration for a Healthy America. Services for older adults and people with disabilities currently administered by the Administration for Community Living will be split between three separate divisions. The agency predicts the cuts will save the department about $1.8 billion. While Kennedy has attributed the restructuring to an effort to tamp down on “bureaucratic sprawl,” he has spoken repeatedly throughout the years, including since he was appointed HHS secretary, about re-evaluating long-accepted medical practices, research and regulations.
Further Reading
RFK Jr.’s 10,000 Health Job Cuts: CDC, FDA, Medicare And Medicaid Services Reportedly Affected (Forbes)
Who Is Dr. Peter Marks? FDA’s Top Vaccine Official Quits, Citing RFK Jr.’s ‘Misinformation And Lies.’ (Forbes)
Here’s What An RFK Jr. Health Role In A Trump Administration Could Look Like: Vaccine Skepticism, Fluoride Ban (Forbes)
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