Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies, sources say
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Those fired from the US Food and Drug Administration were given a ticket and told to return home.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has begun firing staff at major US health agencies, including the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as part of its plan to cut 10,000 government health jobs, sources familiar with the situation and a health official said on April 1.
The cuts, which also affect the National Institutes of Health, are part of a broad plan by US President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to s hrink staffing levels in federal departments and agencies
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has described the cuts at the CDC and the FDA 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 US will safely oversee the health sector and respond to emergencies.
Dr Peter Stein, the director of the Office of New Drugs in the FDA’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research division, resigned on April 1 when faced with being fired, according to one source familiar with the matter.
Dr Brian King, the head of the FDA’s Centre for Tobacco Products division, was fired, according to an e-mail sent by Dr King to FDA staff seen by Reuters.
Dr King and Dr 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 e-mails on the morning of April 1 that said their terminations did not reflect on their service, performance or conduct, according to an e-mail 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 in the morning on April 1 that they were laid off, according to a source.
At the CDC, staff who were fired worked at the National Centre for Environmental Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), 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 US Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately available for comment. REUTERS
